Crossing Night and Day
by NovaFoster
Summary: The untold story of Nurarihyon's and Youhime's lives right after leaving Kyoto, and before their son was born. It's a story involving foreigners, scheming and the wish of a peaceful life that seems so far out of reach, they'll never get it. (Edited 11/10/13 for typos and other errors.)
1. Chapter 1

One

Youhime had fallen asleep as the procession headed east, toward Edo. After everything that had happened to her recently, who could blame her?

Nurarihyon had been the first of her shocks.

Just appearing in her room one night and jumping on her…what had he been thinking? She could see it in the dream she was having—him above her, grinning as he marveled at her beauty. She could feel his legs pinning hers to the floor, hurting her just a little bit, and feel his rough hand on her face, his thumb on her lip, she could taste it on her tongue.

It almost seemed silly, now, to think he had wanted her liver.

In her subconscious, she wondered what he might have done if she hadn't cut him with that spirit blade the _onmyoji_ had given her. Would he have taken her then? Maybe he would have, anyway, if it had been a normal sword. She remembered the amused look he had had on his face, like it didn't hurt at all. Like he thought that she trying to defend herself from him was funny.

And it probably had been. If it had been a normal sword, he probably just would have ignored the wound and done what he pleased. Even with the sword having the power it did, he may still have taken her that night—she had healed him, after all. She remembered the wonder he had looked at her with—the sheer curiosity in his eyes. If the _onmyoji_ hadn't interrupted, what would he have done to her? He always did what he wanted—he was a demon not held down by anything, just as he told her.

The next few nights he had visited her flashed through her dream as well—coming into her room after the sun set, teasing her, touching her face and hair as he pleased. Each night after he left again, the curiosity of his purposes grew—if he didn't want her liver, then what was he after?

And each time she had remembered his words "I want you," her heart would pound all the harder.

Then there was the night he took her outside.

The image of him sitting there, smoking her father's pipe, his _kinagashi_ leaving his muscular torso exposed, was one that left a strange feeling in her body. It had annoyed her when he had called her a caged bird—annoyed her because she had often thought it herself, but couldn't bring herself to speak it.

And then the look on his face when she told him it was her fate—like the word didn't exist in his mind. For a second she had thought he was displeased somehow…but then he smiled and took her outside. Granted, it was against her will—but was it, really?

She had wanted to go outside…with him.

Perhaps, deep down, she had hoped he wouldn't bring her back. Perhaps she had hoped he would take her somewhere with no one else around. Perhaps he had taken her out just so his demon followers could meet her.

It had scared her at first, but that night had been the first in a long time that she had had fun. And then to ask her to marry him…saying so bluntly that he was in love with her for his whole clan to hear…

Why had he taken her back to her father house? Just because he had promised he would, and he was a demon that didn't lie?

She had liked the feeling of him holding her from behind—he was so much taller than her that her head fit square on his chest. The way her hands felt as he held them, knotting his fingers in between hers…hearing him tell her that it wasn't her healing powers he wanted, just her, she wished he wouldn't leave.

Maybe if he hadn't—maybe if she had just told him then that she would marry him—those demons from the castle wouldn't have come.

Her dream shifted to a nightmare, remembering what that fox demon had done to those two girls, remembering what she had almost done to Youhime herself…but Nurarihyon had come to save her. Terrified as she had been, she had known he would save her.

Her nightmare shifted back to a dream, coming up with images of the bright, flourishing life Nurarihyon had spoken of.

"Is she asleep?" the Yuki-Onna, Setsura, asked, looking over Nurarihyon's shoulder. "Humans sure tire out quickly, don't they?"

"But look at that pretty smile on her face," Nurarihyon replied, shifting Youhime so that Setsura could see her better—plus, the feeling of her lips touching the bare skin of his chest was turning him on so much it was getting hard to concentrate. "She must be dreaming about me."

Setsura made an annoyed noise in response.

"Supreme Commander," Karasu Tengu said close behind him. "We should probably stop in Nagoya when we pass over it."

"Eh?" Nurarihyon turned slightly to look at him. "Why?"

"Lady Youhime is human," Karasu Tengu reminded him. "She needs to eat and rest more often than we do."

"That's true," Nurarihyon agreed, thinking. "Well, I have a friend there, anyway."

"You don't mean Lord Tetsuya," Karasu Tengu said disbelievingly.

"Ah, don't worry," Nurarihyon said with a laugh. He turned to face his parade of demons. "Hey—I'm going to take Youhime down to Nagoya! You can all go ahead to Edo or back to your own places!"

The demon horde called out in unison, acknowledging their leader's words.

"So you don't have to see Tetsuya with me," Nurarihyon added to Karasu Tengu. "In fact, you, Setsura, and the rest should go ahead back to the house and make sure Tsubaki hasn't destroyed the place."

"Supreme Commander," Daruma said, and Nurarihyon looked at him. "If Joro-Gumo is there…"

"Oh, don't worry about her," he dismissed, tightening his grip on Youhime. "She only eats men."

"She might make an exception for your healer," Setsura pointed out. "A human is a human, after all."

"Tetsuya's got her well fed on his enemies," Nurarihyon reminded her. "But it's nice to know you're so concerned about Youhime—I hope you'll continue to take care of her."

Setsura scowled. "Like I care," she grumbled.

It wasn't long before they reached Nagoya. Some of the demons had slipped off beforehand to go in the direction of their own domains, but most continued on after Nurarihyon started to descend over the city, bidding their master a temporary farewell. Setsura and Karasu Tengu both hesitated, but didn't follow him.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: To be honest, I wasn't sure if her name should be "Youhime" or "Princess You," but I went with "Youhime" anyway so as not to confuse anyone with the word "you."<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Two

The house Nurarihyon touched down in front of, dismissing the snake-like demon he was riding, was pretty damn big—almost as big as his own manner in Edo. The sun was just starting to rise up over the horizon, and servants were bustling around, not taking notice of either Nurarihyon or the woman he had in his arms.

So he carried her inside, careful to avoid places he knew would be noisy.

"Back again?" A silky female voice asked.

Nurarihyon turned slightly to look and smile at the woman at the other end of the hall he was passing. She was taller than Youhime, and her hair was so long it rested on the hem of her kimonos, trailing behind her along the floor.

"Joro-Gumo," he greeted. "I'm surprised you noticed me."

"I notice everything that touches my webs," Joro-Gumo told him, giggling girlishly. He looked down, and he could see the threads of spider silk he hadn't noticed before. "What's that you're carrying?" She asked, walking down the hall to join him. "Your prey?"

"Not hardly," Nurarihyon replied, grinning again. "This is my woman, Youhime—so hands off."

Joro-Gumo giggled again, looking at Youhime. "That's a lot you're asking of me," she said. "Bringing a young, virgin witch here and telling me I can't touch her."

"Is she a witch?" Nurarihyon asked, his tone joking, as he started walking again.

"Most certainly," Joro-Gumo nodded, following him. "And you intend to lie with her? You flesh and blood demons are so interesting." She glanced around. "Where are your tengu and Yuki-Onna? I've never seen you without them."

"They're going ahead back to Edo," Nurarihyon told her. "I left Tsubaki in charge while I was in Kyoto, but she might have torn the whole place down by now."

"And you decided to stop here with your mortal woman?" Joro-Gumo asked teasingly. "I wonder how Tetsuya will react when he wakes up to find not only you, but this beautiful child as well."

"Well, let's find out," Nurarihyon said. "He's not asleep yet, is he?"

"Not yet," Joro-Gumo allowed. "Shall I take your woman while you speak with him?"

"I'm not leaving her alone with you," Nurarihyon declined.

"How rude," Joro-Gumo chided without the slightest hint of offence. "I'm not fool enough to harm something of yours—word has already spread to here that you killed that fox woman two nights ago."

"You're being pretty talkative, Gumo," Nurarihyon commented. "Something good happen?"

"Not really," she said. "It's just that Tetsuya and I are having a great deal of fun lately." She laughed quietly. "Come now, Nurarihyon—I've already had a room prepared for you. Do you really think it's appropriate to have a conversation with someone while holding an unconscious woman?"

Nurarihyon paused for a moment. "I don't really want you touching her," he said, and looked behind himself at her. "Not when your hands smell like blood."

"Oh, you're right," Joro-Gumo agreed, lifting them up and looking at them—as her kimono sleeves slid down her pale wrists, they revealed her hands, blotches of red all over them. "Forgive me—I just finished making more of my food."

But just then, Youhime stirred and they both looked at her, Joro-Gumo recovering her hands immediately.

"Lord Ayakashi…?" She murmured.

"Ah, we woke you up," Nurarihyon grinned down at her apologetically as she rubbed her eyes.

"Where are we?" Youhime asked.

"At my friend's home in Nagoya," Nurarihyon told her. He set her on her feet, holding her arms as she got her bearings. "You should rest some more," he said. "Youhime, this is Gumo—follow her, and she'll take you to a room."

Youhime looked up at the woman. She was only a couple inches taller, but something about her made her seem like she was much larger than Youhime could see. Was she a demon, like Nurarihyon?

"Um…alright," Youhime agreed, still exhausted.

Joro-Gumo started to walk away, and Youhime blushed at the way Nurarihyon's fingers brushed against her cheek when she followed.

Youhime glanced around the halls as she followed Joro-Gumo through them—the _onmyoji_ mansion aside, she had never been in a house other than her father's. Seeing one she didn't know by heart was strange.

"Your name is Youhime, isn't it?" Joro-Gumo asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"Tell me," Joro-Gumo requested, "how did you encounter the likes of Nurarihyon? You seem like a sheltered little princess. Did he sneak into your castle for your _sake_?"

"No," Youhime shook her head. "He…he had heard of me, and came to see me."

"Oh?" Joro-Gumo questioned.

"He had heard rumors that I was the most beautiful woman in Kyoto," Youhime elaborated, her voice almost so quiet it was inaudible.

Joro-Gumo laughed quietly. "To think even that demon would chase rumors of a pretty face." She looked over her shoulder at Youhime. "You are quite beautiful, though. I don't remember ever meeting one of your line—what do you call yourselves?"

"My name is Youhime," she said slowly, confused by her question.

"No, girl, the name of your line," Joro-Gumo said. "You're a witch, so you should know the name of your line."

"I'm not a witch," Youhime disagreed.

Joro-Gumo looked at her speculatively. "Did your mother die giving birth to you?"

"Er…yes," Youhime said, a bit shocked at how boldly she asked a question most would have been more compassionate about.

"What is it that you can do?" Joro-Gumo asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're a witch," Joro-Gumo repeated. "What can you do that humans can't?"

Youhime stopped walking and stared at her. "You mean my power to heal people?"

"You're a healer?" the Joro-Gumo questioned, her smile back on her face. "That's good—a man like Nurarihyon will need someone to heal his wounds. He gets plenty of them with all his fighting."

Youhime smiled—yes, she was going to be able to heal all his wounds from now on.

…

"Hey, Tetsuya," Nurarihyon said, sliding back the door to the room he knew to be the man's study.

As he did so, the man inside jumped, tearing a bit of the scroll in his hand. He looked at Nurarihyon, the annoyance clear on his face—he was young, perhaps twenty five, his dark hair short and combed out of his thin eyes.

"You again," he sighed. "If you want food, you know where it is—don't bother me when I'm steadying."

"Sorry, sorry," Nurarihyon said without the slightest air of apology. He came into the room, slid the door closed again, and sat across from Tetsuya. "I just thought I should warn you that I brought someone with me."

"Who?" Tetsuya questioned, uninterested and already returning to his scroll. "That Yuki-Onna that always follows you around? Or that busy body crow?"

"Neither," Nurarihyon grinned. "A human woman."

Tetsuya looked up at that, his expression obviously demanding an explanation.

"I'm going to make her my wife soon," Nurarihyon said.

Tetsuya continued to stare at him for a moment, and then laughed. "Trust you to do something so unorthodox." He reached back toward the chest behind him, grabbed a couple _masu_ cups and a bottle of _sake_ out of it, and tossed one of the cups to Nurarihyon. "This woman must be something else to catch your eye."

"She is," Nurarihyon confirmed with a quiet laugh.

"Where did you find her?" Tetsuya asked.

"Kyoto," Nurarihyon told him.

"Where the Hagoromo-Gitsune reins?" Tetsuya raised his eyebrow.

"Not anymore," Nurarihyon said. "Now I'm the master of demons."

Tetsuya let out a short laugh as Nurarihyon sipped his _sake_. "So you reached your goal and got a woman at the same time? And where is she now?"

"Gumo caught me on my way in," Nurarihyon replied. "She took her to a room to rest."

"You trust my dark priestess to be alone with your woman?" Tetsuya questioned.

"That woman of yours is no fool," Nurarihyon said. "I'm sure she still remembers what happened last time she crossed me."

"When was that?" Tetsuya questioned.

"Before you were born," Nurarihyon said mockingly. "It was when this was still your old man's place, and she was still your old man's priestess."

"I see," Tetsuya grinned. "And how long do you plan on haunting my house this time?"

"Not long," Nurarihyon assured him. "I want to get Youhime to Edo soon."

"It must be pretty inconvenient, her being human," Tetsuya commented.

"Not at all," Nurarihyon disagreed. "I can move at a slower pace now."

They both laughed at that.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Not much of a cliff hanger, but I'll write another chapter after I do some homework.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Three

Joro-Gumo had led Youhime to a large room on the north side of the house—the moon would be visible through the open door most of the night, but fairly shady during the day.

Joro-Gumo left Youhime with a couple of her maids, and went to the study to tell Nurarihyon. She found him and Tetsuya laughing over something, a large bottle of _sake_ already half gone.

"It's good that you two are having fun," she said, coming in and sitting down next to Tetsuya, leaning her slim body against his arm, "but it's already passed dawn."

"Ah, you're right," Tetsuya said, looking out the window at the blue sky. "Nurarihyon, are you going to stick around until midnight? We're going to be setting off fireworks from the mainland."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm taking off once Youhime's rested," Nurarihyon replied, standing.

"Don't do anything indecent to her while she's sleeping," Joro-Gumo advised playfully.

Nurarihyon let out a short laugh. "Of course not—I'm not you."

Joro-Gumo and Tetsuya watched him leave, and then looked at each other.

"Always coming and going as he pleases," Tetsuya sighed.

"It's because he's Nurarihyon," Joro-Gumo giggled. She slipped her arms around Tetsuya's neck and swung one of her legs over his, squeezing his waist with her thighs. "That's why your mother followed him before her death."

"Maybe I'll go and follow his kid," Tetsuya mused, fiddling with her sash, "since he'll be a half demon, like me."

"Oh, that won't do," Joro-Gumo disagreed, shrugging several layers of kimonos away from her shoulders. "I'm sure any child of that man would disapprove of me—especially with a healer for a mother."

"Is she a witch?" Tetsuya grinned, leaning forward until her back was against the floor.

"And she doesn't even know it," Joro-Gumo elaborated. "That woman taking care of Nurarihyon will surely have fun with her."

"You mean Tsubaki?" Tetsuya confirmed. "Right—the strange looking witch."

Joro-Gumo giggled again, tickled by Tetsuya's lips on her neck. "Oh, that's right," she murmured, her memory jogged. "That fallen god has come out of hiding again—I should have told Nurarihyon…"

"Want to go tell him now?" Tetsuya asked.

Joro-Gumo considered that for a moment. "I'll tell him later," she decided, pulling Tetsuya closer and hooking her thin ankles behind his back.

…

Youhime wondered, as her conscious came more to the surface, what her body was pressed against. It was something kind of hard and warm and comfortable.

When she opened her eyes, it took a moment for her to realize what she was looking at—Nurarihyon's neck. She realized her head was resting on one of his arms and the other was draped over her waist.

Youhime sat up slowly, blushing as she tucked the single _kimono_ she had left on back into place—her chest had almost been completely exposed, and she wondered how much Nurarihyon had seen.

But she sighed, looking at him. He was so handsome—the light the sunset produced only served to enhance his masculine features. She touched the black line that was under his eye—were they tattoos, like the one on his back, or were they natural?

He opened his eyes and her fingers snapped back automatically, surprised. He looked sideways up at her and then grinned. It was an evil grin, really, his eyes full of mischievous intent, but Youhime blushed anyway.

Nurarihyon grabbed her wrist and pulled. Youhime lost her balance immediately and although she couldn't really keep up with the sudden movement, she was very aware of her chest against his, and even more aware of his lips against her. Youhime tried to protest, mostly out of pure surprise, but Nurarihyon's grip was too strong for her to pull away. She felt his other hand on the middle of her back, pressing her body harder against his, and she clutched his kimono in her shaking fist, no longer trying to fight him off.

_Why don't you live as you want?_ That was what Nurarihyon had asked her. And why shouldn't she do what she wanted with the man she loved?

Nurarihyon started to sit up, still keeping Youhime as close as possible. Everything about her was so soft—her lips, her breasts, her hair, it made him want everything that made up her being. He felt her small body trembling, and yet she wasn't refusing him at all—as his at first merely playful kiss turned more passionate by the second, she reciprocated it eagerly. He let go of her wrist and slid his arm around her shoulders, and she all but clawed at his back with her now free hand.

_Not yet,_ Nurarihyon told himself.

He stopped and just looked at Youhime as she gasped for air, grin back in place, their eyes not two inches from each other's. She had obviously not been breathing—she really was a sheltered princess.

"Lord Ayakashi," she murmured after a second, still breathless.

Nurarihyon chuckled quietly and stood. "I'll be back in a moment," he said, and disappeared.

Youhime crossed her arms over her chest. It felt like her heart would break out of it with how hard it was beating.

But she took a few deep breaths, stood, and put the rest of her _kimonos_ back on. As she finished knotting the last tie—she had never dressed herself without help, it was more difficult than she thought it would be—Nurarihyon reentered the room, his eyes bright. He was carrying what looked like a _bento_ box, and he handed her a meat bun.

"Thank you," Youhime said, taking it, and she realized it had been almost two days since she last ate.

"Let's go," Nurarihyon said, placing his hand behind her back.

"Go?" Youhime repeated.

"To Edo," Nurarihyon reminded her, urging her forward. "I've got my Oboro-Guruma waiting for us—we should be there by the time the sun rises again."

"Oh, but we should thank Lady Gumo and…" It occurred to Youhime that she didn't even know the name of the lord who owned the house she was in.

"Don't worry about her and Tetsuya," Nurarihyon dismissed easily. "You'll see them when they come to visit us in a couple months—they always head over to Edo when winter turns into spring." He handed Youhime the box and picked her up. "Besides, they sleep until well after the sun sets."

"Well, if you say so, Lord Ayakashi," Youhime murmured, though it still didn't feel right to her to not even say goodbye.

Nurarihyon jumped over the edge of the outdoor hallway and landed inside the demon carriage waiting for them. Youhime watched in amazement as it rose, letting out a low groan that sounded like "Commander" as it went. It got higher and higher until there was a clear view of the ocean, which sparkled brightly until the sun sank below the horizon entirely.

"Cold?" Nurarihyon asked, resting his cheek against the top of her head, pulling her back tighter against his torso.

"Not at all," Youhime answered, her cheeks coloring slightly as she relaxed into him.


	4. Chapter 4

Four

Setsura sat, fidgeting with her scarf nervously, as the woman in front of her drank _sake_ directly from a large gourd. She had been drinking from it for almost a minute straight, not even pausing to breathe.

Setsura had told her about Youhime immediately after arriving at the Nura house in Edo, and she had spent the next few hours storming about, yelling and drowning herself in alcohol. Only now as the sun was rising again was she calm enough to talk to.

"Tsubaki," Karasu Tengu eventually said. "Are you going to keep that up until the Supreme Commander gets here?"

Tsubaki lowered the gourd from her lips and looked at him. "I may," she allowed. "That idiot," she hissed, and breathed in from the thin pipe in her other hand. "Now of all times, he chooses to settle down—and you say this girl is human?"

"And completely inexperienced," Setsura added.

"Stop sulking," Tsubaki said, and then sighed. "It is good that Nurarihyon beat that fox woman, but now that he is the 'master of demons,' Celestine is going to be coming after him again."

"The Supreme Commander would have nothing to do with that man a hundred years ago," Karasu Tengu pointed out. "Why would he think that would change now?"

"Why would I know how that monster thinks?" Tsubaki snapped. A ceramic bowl nearby broke, and she took another swig of _sake_. "All I know is that he uses demons to wreak havoc—there are no vampires on this island to fight him, and I doubt he would care that your kind are made of flesh and blood, not just energy."

"We need to think about this calmly," Gyuki said, leaning against the far wall, "and wait until the Supreme Commander gets here."

Tsubaki made an annoyed noise. "I know how that boy is—if he is so in love with this girl that he wants to marry her, he is not going to want to pay attention to anything else for months."

"Hmph," Setsura muttered. "Does he even know what marriage is? Since when does he stand for ceremony?"

"You have a point," Tsubaki agreed, and laughed shortly. "He will probably try to exchange _sakazuki_ with her and leave it at that."

"He will probably want to do this right after he and Lady Youhime arrive," Daruma pointed out. "Perhaps we should hold off on telling him until afterward."

"He would be mad," Tsubaki disagreed. "Where did you say he was stopping?"

"The house of Lord Tetsuya," Karasu Tengu told her.

"That Taka-Onna's child?" Tsubaki confirmed. "If I remember correctly, that boy keeps a druid with him."

"Druid?" Setsura repeated, not understanding the term.

"A dark priestess," Tsubaki revised.

"You mean Joro-Gumo," Karasu Tengu said.

"Yes, Gumo," Tsubaki muttered, thinking. "Her spiders catch vast amounts of information in their webs—she should know already that Celestine is on the move again. If that harlot has any sense, she will have already told him."

"Tell who what?" Came a voice from the door.

"Supreme Commander?!" Karasu Tengu half yelled in surprise.

"What took you so long?" Tsubaki asked, throwing a fresh jug of _sake_ at him, which he caught with a smile.

"I was taking care of my woman," Nurarihyon answered, looking around the trashed room. "I take it someone told you about her?"

Tsubaki laughed humorlessly, glaring and grinning at him at the same time. "I seem to remember you telling me you would bring a woman to meet me before asking her to marry you."

"I was a kid when I said that," Nurarihyon reminded her.

The noise Tsubaki made said quite plainly that she didn't care. "And where is she?"

"She fell asleep on the way here," Nurarihyon told her. "Hey, Setsura, would you go find something for her to wear tonight?"

"Tonight?" Setsura repeated.

"Because tonight we're going to celebrate," Nurarihyon grinned, "and I'm going to make her my wife."

Setsura glared and made a sulky noise, but stood and left the room.

"Thanks for watching the place while we were gone," he continued, looking at Tsubaki again. "So what were you talking about?"

They all glanced around at each other.

"Supreme Commander," Karasu Tengu began, "do you recall that western man who approached you about a century ago?"

"No."

"The one I tried to kill but could not," Tsubaki prompted.

"Oh, that guy," Nurarihyon nodded. "He wanted me to help him kill off humans—what about him?"

"He is back," Tsubaki told him.

There was complete silence for a couple seconds and Nurarihyon's smile faded.

"Here, in Edo?" He questioned.

"I am fairly certain he is not in this city," Tsubaki assured him, "but that monster will surely seek you out now that you are the master of demons. He will stop at nothing to exterminate the humans of this world."

"That's what Hagoromo-Gitsune wanted too, isn't it?" Nurarihyon mused. He opened the _sake_ Tsubaki had tossed him and poured it into his large _sakazuki_ cup.

"Congratulations on defeating her, by the way," Tsubaki smiled. "I expected you to wait longer before taking her on." She glanced at his chest, where she could sense there was an important piece of him missing. How short would his lifespan be now? "What made you rush?"

"She went after my woman," Nurarihyon said, "so I went to get her back."

Tsubaki laughed again. "A warrior and a romantic—I hope this woman knows what she is getting herself into."

"Supreme Commander," Karasu Tengu said, "about the westerner…"

"Ah, who cares about him?" Nurarihyon dismissed. "The way I remember him, he was big but couldn't do a damn thing on his own—as long as he stays out of our territory, why should we care?"

"And if he does invade?" Gyuki asked.

"What do you think?" Nurarihyon countered, looking around at him with a battle hungry grin. "We'll do the same as we did to Hagoromo-Gitsune."

Gyuki laughed shortly, but Karasu Tengu and Daruma looked worried—aside from Tsubaki, they had been the only ones with Nurarihyon when they first encountered the being known as "Celestine."

As he said, aside from a monstrous height—the man had been more than eight feet tall—and insane regenerative ability, he had been no more than human. It was his ability to manipulate demons that was worrisome. If he went to Kyoto and rallied the demons there, who knew how soon they would have a war on their hands? After a battle like the one to take Youhime back, even they needed rest for a while.

"I suppose I should prepare for this celebration," Tsubaki decided, standing.

"Please wear something appropriate," Karasu Tengu requested, trying not to look at the woman's more than ample, half exposed breasts and long, pale legs. The single kimono she was wearing was wrapped so loosely, you could almost see the entire of her curvy body.

"Do not pester me, crow," Tsubaki dismissed, breathing in from her pipe one last time before emptying it and walking out of the room.

They watched her go for a second, but then Nurarihyon turned his attention toward his _sake_ and the pipe he had taken from Youhime's father.

Tsubaki continued to walk through the large house until she found Setsura, her expression beyond angry but looking through stored kimonos.

"You do not have to do that," she said.

"The Supreme Commander asked me to," Setsura snapped.

"No," Tsubaki insisted, "I mean you do not have to do that because I already have something for this girl to use."

Setsura looked at her questioningly.

"I got the feeling Nurarihyon would do something like this soon," Tsubaki smiled, "so I had something prepared ahead of time."


	5. Chapter 5

Five

It was still light out when Youhime opened her eyes again. It was very bright through the paper doors, but when she sat up she felt a shiver go down her spine.

"Yes, it is a bit nippy out," a slow, female voice mused.

Youhime jumped and looked at the woman sitting next to her.

She was sure this woman was a demon of some kind. She was very beautiful, somehow, despite how her nose was strangely prominent, and how round her blue eyes were. She looked no older than twenty five, her skin was almost as pale as the Yuki-Onna's, Setsura's, had been, her golden hair twisted around itself in large spirals, reaching the floor, and her plump lips were curved into an amused smile.

She was a large woman, Youhime thought—almost muscular looking, but she couldn't be sure with her wearing so many _kimonos_. Surely she would be at least almost as tall as Nurarihyon, though.

"So you are this 'Youhime,'?" The woman tilted her head to the side. "How does it feel to be sought after for your face?"

"E-excuse me?" Youhime stammered.

"Well, with what Setsura told me, I suppose you would rather it be your beauty than your liver or abilities," the woman continued, standing.

"Um, who are you?" Youhime asked, trying not to sound too insolent. "Where is Lord Ayakashi?"

"You can call me Tsubaki," she replied, "and if you mean Nurarihyon, he is out with Gyuki and that one-eyed oaf."

Youhime was sure she meant Hitotsume Nyudou, the demon who Kokehime—the child princess who cried pearls—had taken to clinging to at the _onmyoji_ mansion.

"Well, come on," Tsubaki said, grabbing Youhime's wrist and pulling her into a standing position—indeed, this woman was almost a head taller than her. "It is almost noon—Nurarihyon should be back by sundown, and then the celebrating will start."

"Celebrating?" Youhime questioned.

"It is the demon version of a wedding," Tsubaki told her, and pulled her out of the room and down the hall as she did so. "Now that that boy had decided you are his wife, there is no escaping—in his mind, you are already his. To be honest, I am quite amazed he has not taken that body of yours already."

Youhime felt her face go red—what a bold woman.

"Such a stupid boy," Tsubaki continued with a sigh. "He should have started to defile as much of you as he could as soon as possible."

"Defile?" Youhime repeated indignantly.

"Yes." Tsubaki turned her face toward Youhime, her long strides unbroken—the way she smiled chilled Youhime to the bone. "It is a dangerous thing for a demon to devote himself to a witch."

Witch? Lady Gumo had called her that as well—but Youhime wasn't a witch.

Perhaps Tsubaki could read her thoughts on her face because she continued to say, "What, you thought that some mere human could do anything as useful as healing wounds with their own energy?"

"I..." Youhime tried to say, but couldn't think of a response. It had never occurred to her that a "witch" might be someone who could heal the injured.

"When did these powers of yours manifest?" Tsubaki asked.

"When I was thirteen," Youhime answered.

"Not that long ago, then," Tsubaki mused. "You cannot be more than sixteen or seventeen."

"Sixteen," Youhime mumbled. For some reason, it seemed like admitting her youth to this woman was something to be embarrassed about.

"Well, it does not change anything," Tsubaki said. "You are still more or less human—I have met members of your line before. Healing is _all_ you can do. Of course, that is a bit of a problem."

"Why?" Youhime demanded. "Lord Ayakashi told me there is nothing wrong with me being human."

"That is not the problem," Tsubaki agreed. "I was told that the fox who ruled Kyoto kidnapped you for your liver—do you have any idea why you were targeted?"

"She…she took other princesses with strange powers as well," Youhime said.

"Indeed," Tsubaki nodded, "because a virgin witch is the most useful ingredient for any kind of blood magic. And that is why Nurarihyon should hurry up and defile you—take away all that clean purity. The purer the maiden, the more she will be sought after."

Youhime just stared at the back of her head. She didn't really understand what Tsubaki was saying, but she did understand that she wasn't insulting either Nurarihyon or herself. It felt more like she was expressing concern.

Tsubaki lead Youhime to the northeast corner of the house, into a room where they found Setsura, and she finally let go of Youhime's hand.

"We are going to take a bath," Tsubaki told her.

"Bath?" Youhime repeated.

"Alright," Setsura said dismissively. She put down the box she had been carrying, and took Tsubaki's _kimonos_ as she removed them, down to the last one—Youhime had been right in her speculation that this woman had some meat on her bones.

"There is no need to be shy," she said, and took off the _kimono_ Youhime was wearing and handed that to Setsura as well.

She was so shocked she couldn't react in time to stop her.

"Don't take too long," Setsura advised. "Make sure there's enough time for her hair to dry."

"Yes, yes," Tsubaki dismissed, and pulled Youhime into the attached room they had been standing next to. There was a large bath inside—larger than the one in her father's house.

"It has been a long time since there was another woman here I could bathe with," Tsubaki said cheerily, pushing her into the water.

"Is this…normal?" Youhime questioned, her face so red you would think there was no more blood anywhere else in her body.

"You have never bathed with anyone?" Tsubaki asked. "They told me you were sheltered—it is really quite interesting that Nurarihyon would pick a girl so ignorant of the real world."

"I…" Youhime looked down, crossing her arms over her chest. "My father would not let me go outside, and I had no mother or aunts…"

"I see," Tsubaki smiled, placing her hand on Youhime's head. "My mother died giving birth to me as well—though I at least had my sisters and their mother." She stretched and sank lower into the steaming water. "It is nice to have some female company again."

"What about Yuki-Onna?" Youhime questioned.

"A being of snow in hot water?" Tsubaki raised her eyebrow. "Setsura will not even set foot in this room with the water heated." She giggled. "Well, Nurarihyon seems to have made a good choice—he has always been a good judge of character."

"Um…are you a subordinate of Lord Ayakashi?" Youhime asked—she spoke of him more familiarly than anyone else.

Tsubaki laughed. "His subordinate? Hardly—I suppose you could say I am that boy's guardian." More like nanny. "I took care of him when he was small. That was a while ago, though, well over a century…"

"His guardian," Youhime repeated. "Er, Lady Tsubaki…may I ask what kind of demon you are?"

Tsubaki looked at her and laughed again. "Do I look like a demon to you?"

"Um, well," Youhime stammered—the answer was yes, but was that not the case?

"You have never seen a European before, have you?" Tsubaki asked.

"Euro…" Youhime had heard her father and his advisers speak that word before.

"I am a witch, child," Tsubaki said. "Though unlike you, I am immortal. I come from a place called Greece."

"I apologize—" Youhime tried to say, but Tsubaki just smiled at her again and shook her head.

"That is why I like this country," she said. "In this place, I am not beautiful."

…

"Hey, Hitotsume," Nurarihyon said, looking behind himself. "What are you going to do with that kid?"

He was referring to the girl, Kokehime, who was following Hitotsume even now.

"I'm taking her to Shirohebi," Hitotsume grunted.

"Who is that?" Kokehime asked.

"That white snake, huh?" Nurarihyon mused. "You think they'll get along, because he brings luck and she makes pearls?"

"You'll be safe there," Hitotsume told her. "If this westerner is as dangerous as Karasu Tengu says, it'll be best for you to be with a land god, rather than some human household."

"Why can't I stay with you?" Kokehime asked.

"I have to run around a lot," Hitotsume hedged, slightly embarrassed by her protest.

"Well, she can stay at the main house for now," Nurarihyon offered. "I'm sure Youhime would enjoy that."

"Supreme Commander," Gyuki said, getting his attention. "If we don't hurry, we're not going to make it in time."

"Yeah," Nurarihyon agreed, "we should split up—I want to make sure everyone knows that tonight, I'm taking a wife."

…

None of them were aware of the shadow looming over Osaka Castle, all the way back in Kyoto. There were still bloodstains left by Hagoromo-Gitsune where her body fell after Nurarihyon had killed her. If anyone had noticed the giant there, they might have seen the merely disappointed look on his face—the pawn had been taken from him again.

Well, she would be back—she always found a way. He would just have to make due with other pawns—make new ones. The whispers in the wind said that it was that one demon who had killed her—that Nurarihyon who seemed to be immune to his sway.

He had taken a human woman with him.

He would make use of that one.


	6. Chapter 6

Six

Youhime fiddled with the hem of the white _kimono_ as Setsura tied up the complicated _obi_ and Tsubaki combed her hair for her. She might not have been so nervous, but Setsura was looking at her like she would love nothing more than to freeze her down to her bone marrow.

"Um, Miss Yuki-Onna," she began, and Setsura's eyes shot up at her, making her too scared to continue.

Perhaps she knew what Youhime was thinking, because after a sigh she said, "He may want you now, but you're just a human—fifty, sixty years from now, you'll be gone and I will be the one by his side."

Youhime looked down.

"Do not be petty," Tsubaki said chidingly. Setsura just made a dismissive noise, knotted the last string and left the room. "Do not pay her any mind—she is usually much more pleasant, she just knows that once a demon gets…attached to a human like this, they never let go."

Youhime smiled and blushed lightly.

"And while I am thinking of it," Tsubaki continued, "I only ask because you said earlier that you had no female authority figures…but you do know what happens in your marital bed, yes?"

Youhime turned red—really, such a bold woman. But perhaps this was a normal topic for normal women to discuss—she had never really had friends, either, so she didn't know.

"I…I did have maids…" she stammered.

Tsubaki looked down at her speculatively. "Expect pain," she murmured, "and expect to want more of it."

"Hey, Tsubaki," came Nurarihyon's cheery voice, and he almost slammed the door open as he came in, but his eyes feel on Youhime. He was already in his formal _montsuki_ and _hakama_.

"You have no sense of delicacy," Tsubaki chided as he came up to them. "Honestly, always barging right in…"

"Come on," Nurarihyon said, ignoring Tsubaki, still just looking at Youhime and held out his hand for her. The look in his piercing gold eyes mesmerized her—she had no idea how full of sheer desire they were.

That was what Tsubaki saw, though—pure, unadulterated lust. Poor girl.

Youhime took Nurarihyon's hand, smiling again as she stood. How could she worry about anything with him there?

"Everyone's waiting," Karasu Tengu said, lurking outside the door.

"Let's go," Nurarihyon grinned.

"Yes," Youhime agreed.

The large room Nurarihyon led Youhime to was already jam-packed with demons. Once they entered the room, Karasu Tengu and Tsubaki close behind, the demons fell silent, all looking at Nurarihyon.

"Tonight we're celebrating my marriage," he said loudly from the middle of the raised section at the head of the room, "and my new wife, Youhime!"

The demons cheered and seemed to need no more than that to start eating and drinking. There were already places set for Nurarihyon and Youhime, and he pulled her down behind them.

"Here," Tsubaki offered them both cups of _sake_.

"We have to drink nine of them, right?" Nurarihyon asked, taking his.

"Correct," Tsubaki smiled.

"Nine?" Youhime repeated, also taking hers.

"It is not very strong," Tsubaki assured her.

Youhime looked at the clear liquid nervously—she had never so much as tasted _sake_ before. This was her wedding, though—this was a ceremony to join her together with the man she loved and who loved her.

Eight cups of _sake_ later, though, Youhime was barely aware of what was going on around her. She felt giddy—she felt like laughing at everything.

"Can't hold her liquor at all," Gyuki observed, watching Nurarihyon give her her ninth cup.

"Better than that little one," Daruma countered, nodding toward Kokehime, who was giggling quietly to herself, cheeks flushed, her little arms around Hitotsume as far as they could reach.

"Let the lightweights be," Hihi said easily, half removing his mask.

"Indeed," Tsubaki agreed, all but jumping on Hihi from behind—it was easy because he was twice her size. "Which one of you big strong men thinks he can out drink me tonight?"

Hihi pulled her off, loosening her kimonos, but none of them were of mind to care how much of her cleavage was showing. "I'll take you on," he agreed, keeping his large hand around her waist.

"How many is that?" Youhime asked, smiling airily.

"Just finished number nine," Nurarihyon told her—he had finished his ninth cup a while ago. He watched Youhime drink some water—it seemed to sober her up a bit. When she looked at him again, she blushed and looked down, making him grin. He grabbed her and pulled her close. "Don't make a sound," he murmured.

Only a few noticed him pick her up and carry her out of the room.

"Poor girl," Tsubaki sighed.

"Did you say anything to him?" Gyuki asked, pouring both her and Hihi's _sake_.

"Like what?" Tsubaki countered. "Be gentle, do not ravage her? What good would that do?" She drained her cup in one gulp. "I believe Karasu Tengu already had a similar talk with him."

…

"Lord Ayakashi?" Youhime questioned, and he looked down at her, though didn't turn his face toward her. She could see the lust in his eyes this time.

"Hey, Youhime," he said quietly, entering a room on the upper level of the house. The way the flickering light of the single candle in the room illuminated his face put butterflies in Youhime's stomach. "I love you."

"I—I love you too, Lord Ayakashi," Youhime replied.

"That's good," Nurarihyon grinned. "I wouldn't want you to think badly of me after this."

"What do you mean?" Youhime asked.

Nurarihyon huffed humorously. "Weren't you listening before?" He unhooked the arm supporting her legs, and Youhime found herself in the same position he had had her in the first night he broke into her room, though at least this time there was a futon under her. "I want you. You intoxicate me to the point that I lose my mind."

He had her wrists in his hands, planted on either side of her head. He didn't give her time to come up with a response before kissing her. It didn't start out playful this time. Youhime squeaked, almost, with how forceful he was being.

He was heavy, she thought. He wasn't putting all his weight on her, but even through the _kimonos_, she could still feel the definitions of his muscle. He let go of one of her wrists, but she didn't open her eyes to see him take off his _kimono_. She was trembling again. He stopped kissing her and pulled away, and she did open her eyes then. He looked right down into her eyes, his face a mask of flawless calm, tugging at her _obi_ until it came undone.

He liked it—her trembling, shaking. He liked the way her delicate eyebrows were pulled together, rising in the center of her forehead. He liked the way her pink lips quivered. Her clear eyes said plainly what she was afraid of—just that she had no idea what to do.

He ran his fingers down the center of her kimonos, watching her cheeks flush more and more by the second.

Her skin was so soft—or maybe his hand was just rough. Neither of them were sure. The feeling of his fingers trailing over her chest, her stomach, her legs—it sent tremors up her spine. That was nothing next to what him touching more sensitive places did.

Youhime's heart was beating so hard it made her breathing labored—she wasn't meaning to make the noises coming from the back of her throat, they just came.

When Nurarihyon stopped, she might have protested, but he was kissing her again. His bare chest was against hers. Her legs twitched upward, her thighs pressed against either side of his hips. His hand trailed from her raised knee to her waist, and then he wedged his arm under her, forcing her back to arch.

He let go of her other wrist now and removed his _hakama_. Youhime kept her arms in the position he had left them—she wasn't sure what to do with them otherwise.

Nurarihyon pulled his lips away from hers, but she felt them on her neck a second later. She liked the way he bit down on it. Liked the feeling of his lips on her collarbone, on her breasts, on her stomach, and then he made his way back up to her neck, his hair tickling her as he went. She felt his hand under her knee, pushing her leg further to the side—felt him pull her into place, felt his lower body shift.

Yes, she did feel pain. Yes, she did want more.

Youhime let out a breathless scream, and her arms finally moved. One hand was on his muscular shoulder, her nails digging into it, and the other was clutching the _kimonos_ that were still under her, and he just kept pushing and pulling harder and faster.

Her quiet screams were becoming more audible each time one escaped her lips, mostly just indistinguishable noises, sometimes his name, and it made Nurarihyon grin. He moved his hand from her knee to her face, not stopping, and touched his thumb to her lip, but with the constant motion it ended up pressed against her tongue. She bit down on it, her eyes closed tight, and let go of the _kimonos_ to hook her arm under his, clawing his shoulder blade.

The sky was starting to get light by the time they were done hours later. They were lying there in each other's arms, panting, covered in sweat. Youhime's leg was hitched over Nurarihyon's waist, her head resting on his shoulder joint, and he was under her, one hand on her lower back, the other gripping her arm, which was across his chest.

After a couple minutes, Youhime shifted slightly so that she was more on top of Nurarihyon, and she kissed him. Even looking beyond exhausted, even with her hair disheveled and sticking to her face from the drying sweat, she was still beautiful—or maybe it served to enhance that beauty, in a way.

She had just wanted to kiss him once more before she dropped and slipped into unconsciousness.

Nurarihyon laughed shortly, holding her close, and closed his eyes as well.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: I'm fairly certain that <em>sake<em> thing is accurate in concerns to traditional wedding ceremonies in Japan. If not, feel free to correct me.


	7. Chapter 7

Seven

It was almost noon by the time Nurarihyon woke up again. He slipped out from under Youhime, careful not to wake her, got dressed, and went to see what had become of the rest of his clan.

Most of them were awake and bustling around, doing chores. The large room that had been packed last night with his partying demons was already cleaned. A few of them seemed to be suffering the after effects of too much _sake,_ but for the most part, it was business as usual.

"Hey," he greeted, spotting Hihi and Tsubaki sitting on the outside hall, sipping tea. "Have fun last night?"

"Probably about as much fun as you did," Tsubaki allowed. "Where is Youhime?"

"Still sleeping," Nurarihyon told her.

"Well, make sure she drinks water when she wakes up," Tsubaki instructed. "God knows how dehydrated she is now."

"We're you going to go somewhere, Supreme Commander?" Hihi asked.

"I was thinking of revisiting some of my usual places," Nurarihyon answered.

"Do you not think it would be better to wake your wife?" Tsubaki suggested. "I am sure she would feel rather unhappy if she woke up to find you gone."

"I'll be back soon," Nurarihyon promised. "I just want to reestablish some 'fear.'" Meaning he was going to slip into his favorite houses to eat their food for the first time since he and his clan had left for Kyoto.

Tsubaki sighed as Nurarihyon continued along and left. "That boy just cannot sit still."

"We were away for a while," Hihi defended, smiling slightly. "We need to keep up our 'fear' here, otherwise someone else might come to usurp us."

"I suppose," Tsubaki allowed. She stood and stretched.

"Sore?" Hihi asked.

"Not much," Tsubaki answered with a slight laugh.

"Then why are you trembling?" Hihi countered, and Tsubaki made a face.

It was true, her legs were shaking slightly with the effort of standing—if she had bothered to put on more than one _kimono_, he might not have been able to see.

"You are a strong man, Hihi, and my body is soft," Tsubaki pointed out, "but I have been worse after a night with stronger men."

"That sounds like a challenge," Hihi grinned.

"No such thing," Tsubaki disagreed. "You demons are strong, but there are creatures outside this island of an entirely different spectrum."

She trailed her fingers through his hair, which was almost longer than hers, smiling at him and walked away to go wake Youhime up—she shouldn't sleep the day away.

Hihi watched Tsubaki walk back the way Nurarihyon had come, but turned his face back toward the garden and continued drinking his tea.

"Hihi."

It was Karasu Tengu this time.

"What can I do for you?" He asked.

"About Tsubaki…" Karasu Tengu began, but Hihi cut him off with a laugh.

"You're going to lecture me again?"

"It's inappropriate," Karasu Tengu said. "What if she conceived a child?"

"So what?" Hihi dismissed. "I'd like a son—besides, that woman is more demon than human. How many decades has it been since I joined the Nura clan? Seven, eight? Yet she still looks the same. You should hurry up and find a woman, too—now that the Supreme Commander has one, within the next few years, he'll have an heir. We all need to contribute to the next generation."

Karasu Tengu coughed awkwardly, acknowledging his point. "If that's how you feel, then at least have to decency to marry her."

"She doesn't want to," Hihi told him, still dismissive. "She says I should marry a nice girl closer to my own age." He drank the rest of his tea. "And it's only been a year since that human she was married to died. Now that I think of it, though, where did Gyuki and Daruma go off to? They were already up and gone by the time Tsubaki and I came out."

"I don't know," Karasu Tengu replied. "They were gone before I woke up as well."

…

Tsubaki entered Nurarihyon's bedroom quietly and looked at Youhime's still figure. She twitched her fingers, and the comforter covering Youhime started to slowly rise. Like that, she could see the bruises on the girl's wrists and inner thighs. There were more ranging her neck and breasts, but those were just love bites. Could have been worse…

The comforter floated back down, covering Youhime again, and Tsubaki knelt down next to her.

"Youhime," she said quietly, shaking her shoulder.

It took a second for her to open her eyes and another few for her to sit up. It was kind of hard—the muscles in her arms and shoulders were sore, and that just went double for everything in between her waist and knees.

"Come along," Tsubaki said, putting a _kimono_ around her shoulders and helping her stand. "I know what will help."

"Where is Lord Ayakashi?" Youhime asked, but followed her nonetheless.

"There are things he as to do," Tsubaki dodged. "He is the leader of a clan, after all."

"I see," Youhime mumbled, looking down.

"He will be back soon," Tsubaki assured her. "In the meantime…" She had led Youhime to the same room as she had yesterday—the one attached to the bath.

"Again?" Youhime questioned.

"The hot water will help with the soreness," Tsubaki told her. "Believe me."

Youhime glanced down at her body after taking the _kimono_ off and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It will not hurt nearly as much the next time," Tsubaki said with an almost wistful smile. "…Believe me…"

It may have been a good thing that Youhime wouldn't look directly at Tsubaki—if she had, she might have noticed the far more severe bruises coloring her pale skin.

…

Gyuki surveyed the scene before him—nothing short of a slaughter.

What he was looking at were no less than twenty humans—parts of humans, at least. Dismembered corpses, pieces of them littering the ground, organs and intestines entirely strewn out, soaking in the blood they had once contained and rotting away. The stench was almost visible in the air.

It was as if they had exploded.

"Gyuki," Daruma said, coming up behind him.

"Did you find more?" Gyuki asked.

"To the north," Daruma answered. "One about fifty miles from here, and another about sixty miles northwest of that one…just as she said."

"So we're being attacked from the north…" Gyuki muttered. "We need to tell the Supreme Commander of this." He looked at the woman who was smiling at him and leaning against a tree to his left—the one who had told him of the massacre. "What do you expect out of this, Joro-Gumo?"

"Nothing," she promised with a giggle. "Tetsuya asked me to warn you, so I did."

Neither Gyuki nor Daruma questioned her—they would leave that for Nurarihyon to do.


	8. Chapter 8

Eight

It was well into the evening. Nurarihyon and the executives of his clan sat in their meeting room, smoking their pipes, as Joro-Gumo told them what she knew…which wasn't very much of anything.

"My spiders alerted me to the slaughters," she said. "I mentioned it to Tetsuya in passing. He asked me to inform you, as your territory seemed to be on its course."

"Why didn't you come tell me directly?" Nurarihyon asked her.

"It was nearly dawn by the time I arrived at your house," Joro-Gumo replied. "The only ones awake were them." She nodded toward Gyuki and Daruma.

Nurarihyon glanced at them—he knew why they hadn't come to get him when Joro-Gumo told them about the slaughters. He would have been pretty damn mad at them if they had. They would have known that easily, so they chose to check it out and confirm it themselves.

He thought about the bloody scenes Joro-Gumo had led him to after he had finally returned to the house. He thought the same thing Gyuki had—that it looked like the humans had blown up somehow…or like something had just torn them to shreds just for the hell of it. There had been no tooth or claw marks in any of the flesh and the numbers of all the organs matched the number of body sets, so nothing had eaten any of it.

So what manner of being killed dozens of people for no apparent reason?

Nurarihyon looked at Tsubaki, who was sitting by Joro-Gumo with a look of utmost disgust—he wasn't sure if it was because of the killings, because of Joro-Gumo being so close to her, or because of the countless spiders currently crawling all over Joro-Gumo's body.

"Got anything?" He asked her.

"I cannot think of any manner of demon that would do this," she replied, "or of any reason a human might."

"Obviously it's some cheeky bastard trying to call us out," Hitotsume grunted. "We should scour the city for him."

"We don't even know what kind of creature to look for," Gyuki pointed out. "Searching blind would be a bad idea—and a fruitless endeavor."

"Then what do _you_ think we should do?" Hitotsume shot at him.

"Remain calm," Gyuki replied, though that only seemed to provoke him. "If we let ourselves go into a frenzy, we will leave ourselves open to attack."

"Hey, Gumo," Nurarihyon said, and everyone looked at him. "Where did this start happening?"

"Hmm…" Joro-Gumo breathed, looking at the spiders. She stayed silent for a moment, focusing on the ones remaining motionless on her palms. "In the Echigo province," she eventually said. "A small village on the coast was slaughtered."

"That is to the northwest, is it not?" Tsubaki questioned.

"It is," Karasu Tengu confirmed.

"Perhaps it came from the main land?" Joro-Gumo guessed her thinking with a sly, mocking smile on her face. "Perhaps ghosts from your past chasing after you?"

If any of the demons in the room had blinked, they would have missed Joro-Gumo dropping flat on her back like a giant slab of stone had been dropped on her. Some of them jumped in surprise of the sudden motion—others knew what was happening. Another couple seconds, the pressure visibly building up on Joro-Gumo's small body, and the sickening cracks of bones breaking echoed around the room.

"What were you saying?" Tsubaki asked, tone unchanged, as though nothing had happened.

"Tsubaki," Nurarihyon said, "that was a bit much."

"She will be fine," Tsubaki dismissed. "Those humans who turn to cannibalism are extremely durable."

She seemed to be right. Despite the shattered ribs and broken arms and legs, Joro-Gumo was already sitting up again, an obnoxious smile still on her face, as though she couldn't feel pain.

"More durable than a masochistic witch, certainly," she agreed. Tsubaki fixed her with a glare that would have scared any normal human into running as far and fast as they could.

"Have your catfight later," Nurarihyon ordered, and he stood. "I can't have someone running around my city doing as they please when I've just become the master of demons. We'll go looking for them—look for anyone we don't recognize. Anyone who smells like human blood."

The rest of the demons stood as well.

Tsubaki and Joro-Gumo stayed seated until the last one had filed out.

"How many times must I break your neck for you to learn to keep that vile mouth of yours shut?" Tsubaki growled.

"You're a cruel woman," Joro-Gumo said back. "You could easily follow the energy from that bloodbath to the one who caused it."

"This is Nurarihyon's problem," Tsubaki dismissed. "They are his demons."

"So cruel," Joro-Gumo giggled. "What if more humans are sacrificed for this charade? What are you going to do if it is one of the immortals from your native land?"

"It is not," Tsubaki muttered, looking at her knees.

"How can you be sure?" Joro-Gumo asked, shifting so that she could look at her face.

"Because vampires drink blood," Tsubaki answered, "not spill it."

"Celestine, then?" Joro-Gumo questioned.

"Probably," Tsubaki allowed. "I am sure Nurarihyon knows that as well." She stood. "If your business here is finished, leave—the last thing this place needs is to be filled with the energy of a rotting soul."

Joro-Gumo laughed, high and gleeful, before her body broke up into hundreds of little black spiders, all skittering toward the window.

_Disgusting creature,_ Tsubaki thought.

…

"Lord Ayakashi," Youhime said, getting his attention.

He turned and smiled down at her—he hadn't gotten a chance to see her since he left that morning.

"Youhime," he said in a low voice, placing his hands on her shoulders. "How was your day?"

"I spent it with Lady Tsubaki and Kokehime," Youhime replied. "Lord Ayakashi, are you leaving again?" She looked nervously at the crowd of demons and could sense something wasn't right.

"Someone's invaded," Nurarihyon told her. "If I don't take care of it now, it'll just cause more trouble later."

"I see," Youhime mumbled, looking down for a moment, but Nurarihyon tilted her face back up toward his so he could see the worry in her eyes. "Be careful."

"Don't worry about us," he grinned, kissed her, and they left—a true night parade of a hundred demons.

"You don't have to waste time worrying about that guy."

Youhime turned to find Setsura leaning against a nearby doorframe.

"You're not going with them, Miss Yuki-Onna?" Youhime questioned.

"Someone has to stay to guard the place," Setsura pointed out. "If you're going to be with a guy like Nurarihyon, you should get used to it—we fight all the time."

With that, she went back into the house, leaving Youhime with her still troubled thoughts.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: You should all feel free to point out typos, please. That includes words that are spelled the right way, but don't make sense in context to the sentence.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Nine

It went on like that for five days. Nurarihyon barely returned to the main house, and when he did, it wasn't for long.

Youhime didn't complain. She knew this was simply what he had to do to protect the city they lived in.

Setsura went out with them sometimes, leaving Gyuki or Karasu Tengu to guard the main house, but none of them would let Youhime go beyond the wall around the property. She had been in Edo for a week, but she hadn't seen it at all.

"It must be rather maddening for you," Tsubaki suspected. She and Youhime were watching Kokehime play in the fresh snow with some of the smaller demons. "Not being allowed to go outside once again, I mean."

Youhime shook her head. "I know it's just because someone's hurting people outside," she said. "Lord Ayakashi needs to work hard to be a respectable leader."

Tsubaki laughed quietly and put her arm around Youhime's shoulder, pulling her in. "You are a good wife—I would not be so patient with my husband."

Youhime looked up at her, though could only see the underside of her chin. "Aren't you married to Lord Hihi?"

Tsubaki looked down at her. "Whatever would give you that idea?"

"Er, I—" It took Youhime a second to figure out how to say it. "I overheard Miss Yuki-Onna and Lord Karasu the other day, and…"

But she couldn't continue, blushing both because of the implication, and she was embarrassed for eavesdropping on someone else's conversation.

Tsubaki just smiled, though. "I have been alive for a long time," she told her. "When you are alive for so long, silly things like ceremony and social custom begin to mean less and less to you."

Youhime wasn't bold enough to ask how old she was, despite her young face.

…

Nurarihyon looked at the peaceful neighborhood as the sun went down, waiting until Karasu Tengu finally came up behind him to report.

"We've searched all eight hundred and eight districts, sir," he said.

"And nothing?" Nurarihyon mused.

"Should we widen the search?" Karasu Tengu asked.

"Yeah," Nurarihyon agreed, standing. "Focus on the south and west—I don't think this thing is going back the direction it came."

"Supreme Commander?" Karasu Tengu questioned.

"I'm going back to the house for a little while," Nurarihyon told him. "I can't have my wife thinking I'm a neglectful husband."

"Of course," Karasu Tengu nodded, and then left.

…

Youhime looked at the moon from the outside hall, making her way to her and Nurarihyon's room. It was almost full, now, and illuminated the thin clouds below it.

She hesitated before entering the room, still just looking up at the sky, wondering when Nurarihyon would come back and if he was alright. If there was a fight, if he was injured, would he be able to get back to her?

"I'm a pretty bad husband, aren't I?"

Youhime jumped and looked into the room—Nurarihyon was sitting there, looking at her fathomlessly.

"Now I'm the one putting that look on your beautiful face."

"No, Lord Ayakashi," Youhime disagreed automatically, walking in and closing the door behind her.

"Someone else is making you look so tormented?" Nurarihyon questioned as she sat down by him, but his tone didn't really leave room for argument.

They both remained silent. Youhime tried to speak, but the longer she looked into Nurarihyon's eyes, the harder it got to think. The way he was smiling at her didn't help. After a few seconds, it got to be too much—she looked away, feeling everything inside her body squirm, but it didn't help. She could still feel his eyes boring into her, like he would love nothing more than to eat her alive, and she felt her temperature rise.

It just made Nurarihyon all the more excited.

She looked like she didn't know what to do again—she really probably didn't. That just made things more interesting, though. That innocence of hers wasn't something that would end over night. She still couldn't handle seeing all the desire in his eyes—she probably didn't realize the reason her body felt like that was because she was so receptive to his energy. It was like she could already feel him touching her.

So he did.

He moved behind her, wound one arm around her waist, undid her sash, and brushed his fingers over her collarbone as he slipped his hand under her _kimonos_. He pulled her back against his torso, holding her there tightly.

"I didn't mean for me to be away from you like that," he said, and Youhime could feel his breath against her neck.

He really hadn't—whoever had started messing with his territory had picked a really annoying time to do so. Nurarihyon had expected to be in this room with Youhime every night after their wedding, not spending the last week looking for some demon.

Well, whoever was killing humans wasn't in his territory anymore—he had confirmed that. Maybe they were just passing through and didn't know whose turf it was.

He actually managed to talk himself into believing that. He didn't really care right now—not with Youhime in his arms.

"Lord Ayakashi," Youhime murmured and breathed in sharply, feeling him at first just kiss her the base of her neck, but then bit down on it.

She gripped his arm in her shaking hands as he shifted her _kimonos_ off her shoulders, and they slid away easily, leaving her torso bare. His hand trailed down her shoulder, and as he cupped her breast in it he pulled her higher, lifting her so that it would be easier to kiss her down her neck and shoulder blades.

He moved his other arm, letting her kimonos fall away completely. He slid that hand down her abdomen, in between her legs, and she dug her nails into his arm before he even started. When he did, she let go of his arm and reached back, one hand gripping his _kinagashi,_ the other knotted in his hair, and couldn't entirely stop herself from crying out.

He grinned, let go of her breast, and tilted her head back, pressing his finger tips against her jaw, and kissed her even more deeply than he had last time. It was getting hard for Youhime to breath because of it, coupled with her pounding heart and the way her neck was twisted around.

Perhaps Nurarihyon could tell, because after a few seconds, he turned her around, still kissing her, and laid her down on the futon. He more or less hovered over her for a second, but she already had her legs as twisted around his hips as they could be.

Youhime's still trembling hands were almost moving on their own—they had found their way under his _kinagashi_ and were sliding it away just as he had done with her _kimonos_. He removed it the rest of the way himself, lowered his body to hers, and went in.

It really didn't hurt nearly as much this time, but it still wasn't exactly painless. Maybe that was just because Nurarihyon was being even more aggressive than he had last time. He was going at her so hard she could feel it throughout her entire body, and he didn't stop no matter how many times she cried out. Not that she really wanted him to.

It was hours before he was entirely spent. He held Youhime tightly, though, one arm around her torso, keeping her back pressed against him, and her head was resting on the other. He could feel her heart beat, visibly pounding against her ribs, and feel her try to breathe in enough air to calm it. It was only a couple minutes, if that, before her exhaustion slid her down into unconsciousness.

Nurarihyon smiled, his lips pressed against her hair—maybe he could show her the city in the afternoon, if no one reported more slaughters to him.


	10. Chapter 10

Ten

Once again, Nurarihyon woke up before Youhime. He carefully shifted her head off his arm as he sat up, wondering if he should wake her. She probably needed more sleep than he did—she was human, after all.

He pulled his _kinagashi_ back on and left the room.

The sun was already up, but it wasn't too late into the morning. Karasu Tengu came to report that there were no more killings. Everyone with territories to the south and west couldn't find any disturbances.

"We really shouldn't just forget about this," Karasu Tengu said.

"We don't know what killed them in the first place," Nurarihyon pointed out. "We don't even know if it was a demon or other humans."

"Do you really think humans would be capable of that?" Gyuki asked.

"You would be amazed at what humans can do to each other," Tsubaki murmured, "for no other reason than the sake of doing it. It may well have been bandits who like the sight of blood and organs."

"How sickening," Setsura commented.

"It makes more sense than a demon, though," Nurarihyon agreed. "We weren't looking for humans that smelled like blood. They're probably long gone by now."

Karasu Tengu and Gyuki glanced at each other unsurely, Setsura and Tsubaki uneasily, but none of them disagreed. He was right—they had no way of finding out whom or what had killed those humans. Even if Tsubaki wanted to, it had been too long now to follow any trails of energy.

Well, if more slaughters popped up, they would hear about it—she would find them then.

Nothing happened, though—not for nearly three months.

The days grew longer, the air got warmer, snow stopped falling, but there were no new mass murders. Nurarihyon was with Youhime all day and night, except when he and his demons went prowling through the moon bathed city. There were no uprisings; even the humans weren't fighting among themselves.

Nurarihyon took Youhime out into the city almost every day. The look on her face every time they went somewhere new was almost as satisfying as the look she would get when he made love to her.

And before they knew it, the winter had turned into spring.

"Lord Ayakashi?"

Nurarihyon turned and smiled down at Youhime—he had just been looking for her, back from stealing tobacco from some noble's mansion.

"Something wrong?" He asked, noticing the slight worry in her expression.

"I think there's something wrong with Lady Tsubaki," she said, shifting uncomfortably.

Nurarihyon raised his eyebrow, but followed her to Tsubaki's room. There, he was met with the sight of her surrounded by empty bottles of the strongest _sake_ you could get in Edo. Some of them were broken, the shards lining the walls she had thrown them at.

Nurarihyon thought for a moment and then smiled and said, "Tetsuya and Gumo are on their way, aren't they?"

"Why you let that creature into your house is beyond me," Tsubaki hissed, finished off the _sake_ bottle in her hand, and opened a new one. "Why that boy keeps her with him is an even greater mystery—does he not know that she may one day choose to kill him?"

"Tetsuya can take care of himself," Nurarihyon dismissed.

Tsubaki made an annoyed noise and glanced at Youhime. "You should hurry up and corrupt that girl—you never know when that spider might try to take a pretty butterfly. Of course, as history would indicate, corruption may not stop her."

Nurarihyon sighed and closed the door before looking at Youhime. "It's best to just leave her alone when she's like that."

"Does she dislike Lady Gumo?" Youhime asked—that was pretty much all she was able to gather from the conversation.

"Not dislikes," Nurarihyon disagreed. "Tsubaki completely detests her." And for pretty damn good reason. "Come on—Setsura's going to have dinner ready soon."

Youhime looked back at Tsubaki's bedroom door, concerned, but didn't argue.

A couple days later, not long after the sun set, there was a two person _kago_ outside Nurarihyon's front gate, pulled by spider demons. The ones who stepped out of it were none other than Tetsuya and Joro-Gumo.

"You're early this year," Karasu Tengu said in greeting.

"The trees are blooming early," Tetsuya replied. "I hope you were prepared for us."

"Tsubaki let us know you were on your way," Karasu Tengu told him, leading him through the house to where Nurarihyon was.

Elsewhere in the house, Tsubaki was still drinking _sake_ and throwing the empty bottles at the walls.

"I did send one of my spiders to tell her," Joro-Gumo said with a giggle.

"She'll be fine tomorrow," Karasu Tengu sighed. "We're going to go to the area around Mount Fuji we went to last year. Are you two coming?"

"Of course," Tetsuya agreed.

"How have things worked out with those mass killings, by the way?" Joro-Gumo asked pleasantly.

"Inconclusive," Karasu Tengu admitted. "We never found who or what did it, and it hasn't happened again."

"I see," Joro-Gumo smiled.

That smile made Karasu Tengu's eyes narrow, but he didn't say anything more. He stopped outside one of the paper doors and knelt down in front of it.

"Supreme Commander, Lord Tetsuya and Joro-Gumo are here," he said, though Tetsuya was already opening the door.

"Hey," Nurarihyon greeted.

He was sitting on the other side of the room with Youhime, by the open window where the full moon was clearly visible over the cherry tree in the garden.

"Good evening," Youhime said politely, turning toward them with a slight bow.

"So you're Youhime," Tetsuya said, walking in and sitting down next to them, Joro-Gumo right behind him. "It's no wonder this guy had to spirit you away—you're far too beautiful for him."

"Hey," Nurarihyon protested, and Joro-Gumo giggled.

"Lord Ayakashi didn't spirit me away," Youhime disagreed. "Thank you for letting us stay at your house before—I'm sorry we didn't properly say goodbye."

Tetsuya looked at her for a moment, and then laughed. "I can see why you wanted her so badly," he said to Nurarihyon.

"Anyone would," Nurarihyon replied, emptying his pipe.

…

The next night, they went out right after the sun went down, and partied until it came back up.

The moon was still full, and so bright it almost seemed as light out as it had been in the day. Even the stars were dimmed by it. The cherry blossom petals, on the other hand, shone brilliantly once bathed in the moon's light. It was like a sea of pinkish white floating just above the ground.

"So beautiful," Youhime said in amazement, the awe clear on her face.

"Have you never gone cherry blossom viewing before?" Nurarihyon asked, amused.

"Not since I was very young," Youhime allowed, "and certainly not at night."

Nurarihyon laughed shortly and pulled her close. "I think you're a more pleasing sight to look at, especially in the moonlight, but we can do this here every year if you want."

Youhime blushed and smiled up at him. "I would like that."

Nurarihyon held her, sitting under one of the trees on the top of a low hill, watching as his clan ate and drank the food and _sake_ Setsura and Tsubaki had prepared. Karasu Tengu was being subdued, as usual, until Gyuki wouldn't let him anymore, all but shoving _sake_ down his beak. Hitotsume and Daruma were laughing loudly about something. Setsura was making cherry blossoms out of ice, which Kokehime and a few others were being entertained by. Tsubaki was sitting on Hihi, her _kimonos_ already coming undone, and they were laughing with Tetsuya and Joro-Gumo.

At the time, none of them noticed the figure in the shadows of the trees, watching them.


	11. Chapter 11

Eleven

It was just as the sky started to get light again, the demon parade ready to leave, that Joro-Gumo felt something—a sense going off in her head.

She grabbed the hem of Tsubaki's sleeve.

"What?" Tsubaki asked, yawning, as she turned.

Joro-Gumo didn't say anything, though. She was just looking at a group of cherry trees to their left, and Tsubaki followed her gaze. It took a moment to see what she was looking at—the cherry blossom petals, turning red at the center.

"I see," she murmured.

"Tetsuya," Joro-Gumo said quietly, and he looked at her. "Tsubaki and I are going to stay behind for a little while. We should be back at the house by noon."

"Alright," he agreed without the slightest hint of curiosity.

"Tsubaki?" Hihi said, and she smiled up at him.

"There is something we need to do," she told him. "Tell Nurarihyon I will be back by noon." _If he notices I am gone._ She could see him carrying Youhime, who had fallen asleep, and looking at her with such an intense amusement and wonder.

Tsubaki and Joro-Gumo watched them leave. They would be back at the main house by the time the sun finished rising. Once the demons were nothing but a spot in the sky, they looked at the cherry trees again—the petals were now almost completely red.

"Perhaps we should have had them stay," Joro-Gumo mused. "I really am no use for fighting your demons."

"Just kill the undead puppets," Tsubaki instructed with an annoyed sigh. "I will take care of him."

She slipped off all but one of her _kimonos_, and that one she tucked the bottom of into her sash, leaving her legs exposed; all the easier to move around. A man came out of the now red trees and stood before them, a smile playing on his lips.

He was a beautiful man—tall and masculine with fair hair and blue eyes. He was so perfect it was hard to believe he was real. He was almost angelic looking.

Or at least, he would have been for any normal human.

Behind him, the ground began to rupture. The cherry trees nearest him, the ones with the red petals now dripping blood, were uprooted. Out of the earth came horrifying creatures—human figures, bloated, decayed, rotting away, reeking of death. Some of them had intestines leaking out, some of them had eyes hanging from their sockets, some of them had limbs missing or twisted and broken in nauseating directions…it was grotesque.

"What's this?" The beautiful man asked in an enchanting voice. "Since when do you associate with druids?"

"Someone you know?" Joro-Gumo asked.

"Unfortunately," Tsubaki growled. "Jacob, how did you get on this island? Better yet, how did you know I was here?"

"That titan, Celestine, told me," Jacob replied.

The color drained from Tsubaki's face. "You foolish boy," she murmured.

"That's interesting, coming from a witch who's been holding up with demons for the last hundred something years," Jacob countered.

"They are not like the demons from our land," Tsubaki hissed, glaring at him.

"Right, they're made of flesh and blood," Jacob agreed, scoffing. "These little black haired people are interesting, aren't they? For their emotions to be so powerful…I supposed that's why you like them so much, isn't it?" He glanced at Joro-Gumo. "Even that one."

"Is he looking down on me?" Joro-Gumo asked, raising her eyebrow.

"He has always been like that," Tsubaki sighed. "I certainly did not raise him to be this way."

"Your son?" Joro-Gumo questioned.

"Stepson," Tsubaki qualified. "Jacob, who has been sending those things to kill the humans in this territory?"

"I have," he grinned.

"Do not lie to me," Tsubaki said in a hard voice. "A vampire could not manipulate the dead—at least, not on his own."

Jacob laughed shortly, but didn't answer. Tsubaki's temper was growing short, but Joro-Gumo just looked at the corpses still coming out of the ground all the more intently. She just had to focus on them a little…_see_ them…

"Oh dear God…" She murmured, and Tsubaki looked at her.

"You know who is controlling them?" She asked.

"Suzumebachi," Joro-Gumo said, her voice almost sounding sad.

"Suzu…" Tsubaki started to repeat, but remembered who that was. "Your brother?"

"His energy is what's moving them," Joro-Gumo sighed.

Looking closer, Tsubaki agreed. "Druids are not supposed to involve themselves in the battles of immortals," she said.

"Cho will surely come here," Joro-Gumo said quietly, the fear visible in her eyes.

Tsubaki snorted. "A spider and a hornet at the mercy of a butterfly—how ironic."

"Do not make light of this," Joro-Gumo hissed. "I may have poisoned you and tried to drain your heart, but that is nothing compared to what Cho will do to Suzumebachi—or me, if she believes I am involved in this."

"Yes, she got that cruelness from me," Tsubaki agreed with a wry smile.

She and Joro-Gumo looked at Jacob and the dead bodies at his command. Both wondered the same thing for a moment—why hadn't he attacked them yet? And both realized at the same time—he was just a distraction.

Of course—the mass killings suddenly made sense. They would think that surely she would go to investigate the seemingly meaningless slaughtering of so many humans. When she didn't, they came up with a new tactic of separating her from Nurarihyon and his clan.

"Jacob," Tsubaki said, struggling to keep her voice even. "I do not want to kill you."

"But I want to kill you," Jacob argued with a depraved smile.

Tsubaki closed her eyes for a moment, resigned. "You are a foolish, sinful child."

"I don't want to hear that from _you_," Jacob snarled, finally attacking.

He shot at them so fast Joro-Gumo couldn't even see him move. Before she knew it, he had Tsubaki a clear two hundred feet away.

Tsubaki could take care of herself, though. Joro-Gumo focused on the dead coming at her—bodies of fallen warriors, it looked like, controlled by blood magic. There were perhaps three or four dozen of them—easy.

It wasn't long before the vampire Jacob was at Tsubaki's feet, broken and dismembered. His thick blood stained her _kimono_, spotted her face and body, soaked her feet as she stood in it, looking down at him. She pulled a paper spell out of her sleeve, and as she pushed her energy into it, it ignited. She dropped it on the pile of vampire flesh and bones before it could start to reattach itself. It caught fire and burned away as easily as dried leaves.

She looked at Joro-Gumo.

Any human would have thought Tsubaki to be a horrifying sight at the moment—it was nothing compared to Joro-Gumo. The corpse puppets were strewn around her, the sight even more nightmarish than the slaughters. A young woman, covered almost entirely in the blood she was standing in, creating a shallow pool around her, her smile a mixture of amusement and satisfaction…_disgusting_ _creature_.

…

"Supreme Commander!"

Nurarihyon had barely finished laying Youhime down in their room when he heard the yelling. He slipped back out and went to the greeting hall.

There he saw more than a few of the lesser land gods injured, and even one of the higher members of his clan—a young man with brown hair and red eyes.

"You're the leader of the Zen sect," Nurarihyon said, and they all looked at him, not having noticed him enter.

"What's going on here?" Karasu Tengu demanded, following Nurarihyon in.

"Yakuzen was attacked," Zen told him, his hand pressed hard against a stab wound on his own side.

"By who?" Nurarihyon asked calmly, kneeling down next to him, and Setsura started cleaning his wounds fervently.

"_Jikininki_," Zen said through his teeth. "They came out of nowhere and started killing humans, then attacked us."

"Killing humans?" Hihi asked—he, like most of the others, were promptly bandaging up the wounded. "And not eating them?"

"_Jikininki_ are dead priests and monks who fell to greed, thus couldn't find peace in the afterlife," Gyuki said. "They eat the bodies of dead humans in graveyards and lament their fate—they don't attack the living."

"These ones did," Zen insisted, his voice straining against the pain. "Tore them to shreds and left them like that…"

Nurarihyon, Karasu Tengu, Gyuki, Hihi, and Setsura all glanced around at each other. Not bandits, then.

"Gather everyone," Nurarihyon ordered. "We're going to take care of this."


	12. Chapter 12

Twelve

Joro-Gumo and Tsubaki were almost half way back to Edo. Their fight had taken longer than they thought it would—it was already passed noon, and they couldn't even see the city yet. They had taken too long, as well, washing the blood off their bodies.

Tsubaki didn't like it, but it was more productive for her to fly and carry Joro-Gumo with her. The last time they had been so physically close, it was because Joro-Gumo was trying to put a dagger through her heart.

"Oh, for the love of…" Tsubaki hissed.

Joro-Gumo tilted her head up. "What?"

Something hit them. For a second they tumbled through the air, but then they hit tree branches, and then the ground—hard.

It took both Joro-Gumo and Tsubaki a few seconds to be able to move and assess their own injuries.

Tsubaki's right femur was broken, her right elbow joint shattered, her left wrist was dislocated, and there was a small branch through her abdomen. She glanced at Joro-Gumo, who first fit her right arm back into the shoulder joint, then twisted her broken neck around to the right position. It seemed her legs were broken in a couple places as well, but that didn't stop her from standing and surveying her now shredded kimonos.

"I really liked this," she murmured, referring to the top one—red silk with black spider webs embroidered all over it. "Tetsuya had it made for me."

"I am sure he will make you a new one," Tsubaki said through her teeth. Unlike the druid, she could feel pain. "Come over here and get this stick out of me."

Joro-Gumo did as she was asked—with strength no one would think a woman her size capable of, she half pulled Tsubaki up and ripped the branch out like a toothpick from butter, spraying blood everywhere. Tsubaki didn't scream, really, or perhaps it was just that muffled by her clenched teeth.

She tried to breathe in properly, but it seemed the branch had either damaged her lungs going in, or Joro-Gumo had damaged them pulling it out.

"Don't pass out on me," Joro-Gumo requested, watching her eyes go in and out of focus.

"That is…what happens…when humans…"

That is what happens when humans sustain such heavy injury. Joro-Gumo knew that's what she would have said if she hadn't fallen unconscious. Her limp body hung from Joro-Gumo's hand like dead meat from a hook.

"Even the great Earth Raiser passes out from a little pain, hmm?"

Joro-Gumo sighed, dropped Tsubaki, and looked at the speaker.

It almost looked human, she thought—almost, but not quite. It had a tall, lean figure that was more male looking than female looking, and it was dark gray in color, though it was almost transparent, like a ghost. It was grinning at her with pointed teeth and red eyes.

"What manner of demon are you?" She asked.

"Where I come from, they call me a poltergeist," it answered pleasantly.

"I see," Joro-Gumo smiled, just as pleasant. "I suppose this 'Celestine' person is the one who sent you."

"It would be easy for that woman there to get rid of a vampire and a few moving corpses," the poltergeist said. "Master Celestine isn't a fool."

"Quite frivolous with his minions, though," Joro-Gumo amended. "He's going to great lengths to keep Tsubaki and me away from the Nura clan."

"Oh, he doesn't care about you," the poltergeist corrected. "A druid isn't a threat to him—it's the witch that needs to die."

"Oh really?" Joro-Gumo questioned, glancing down at her. "Well, I can see why—even a fallen god would be troubled by an enemy who could level a city without lifting a finger."

"You seem to know a lot about the Master," the poltergeist commented.

"Well, this witch here gets quite talkative if you give her enough alcohol," Joro-Gumo replied, and they both laughed airily. "It does beg the question, though—why does this master of yours seek Nurarihyon so insistently?"

"That demon was born of the moon god and the ocean," the poltergeist told her easily. "And he is now the master of demons—what better way to exterminate the human infestation on this island than by using him?"

"That would be logical," Joro-Gumo agreed. "And after this island, I suppose the rest of the world."

"That's the plan," the poltergeist said. "It's been nice chatting with you, but I really must hurry—if you wouldn't mind getting out of my way, I need to take that witch's head. Or you can have her, if you like—I just need to make sure she's dead."

Joro-Gumo giggled. "Indeed, the crystallized blood of a witch, even so tainted as hers, would be quite vitalizing. Unfortunately, the last time I tried to take it, that boy she raised nearly killed me, and I rather like being alive."

"I'll be taking her, then," the poltergeist shrugged. "That shouldn't be a problem for you, considering druids never put themselves at risk for anyone."

"Did Suzumebachi tell you that?" Joro-Gumo asked.

"He did," the poltergeist confirmed, "though that is a conclusion I've come to after witnessing the actions of your kind for centuries."

"I see," Joro-Gumo smiled wider. "Indeed, it goes against my nature to thwart a demon made purely of energy, but if I abandoned this woman, Nurarihyon would not simply let me go."

"That's too bad," the poltergeist said, shifting into a battle ready position. "I rather like you."

Joro-Gumo giggled again. "I am not going to fight you," she told it. "I'm certainly no match for a being of energy."

"Then what do you intend to do?" The poltergeist asked curiously.

Joro-Gumo grinned.

"Did you know that a body doesn't need to be dead for a druid to use it?"

Tsubaki stood. Her eyes were half open, but glazed over, unseeing.

"You can't abandon her, but you can use her broken body as a puppet to fight with?" The poltergeist questioned.

"The nice thing about immortal witches like her is that it takes a lot to kill them," Joro-Gumo replied sweetly. "And when she regains consciousness, it will take her no time at all to kill you."

"You're making light of me," the poltergeist smiled. "What makes you think this fight will last that long?"

…

Nurarihyon's demon parade was ready by nightfall.

"Tsubaki and Joro-Gumo still aren't back," Hihi said as they prepared to take off.

"They can take care of themselves," Nurarihyon dismissed.

"Lord Ayakashi," Youhime said, and he looked down at her. She looked tired—not surprising, seeing as how she insisted on healing every injured demon in the Zen sect after she had woken up. "Be careful."

"Don't worry," Nurarihyon grinned, "a few _jikininki_ will be easy prey—we'll be back before the sun rises."

He kissed her, and they rose off, into the night.

Youhime stayed were she was in the outside hall, watching as they disappeared into the black sky.

She was alone—all of them had gone to fight, even Tetsuya and the demon Zen who had been so injured. Their wounds hadn't been hard for her to heal, but she had never used her power so much at once. It did indeed make her tired.

She was worried about Tsubaki, who Hihi told her had stayed behind for some unknown reason, but worrying wasn't going to do anything. She went upstairs, into her and Nurarihyon's room, and went to bed.

In the morning, Nurarihyon would wake her up with a kiss, or Tsubaki would wake her up telling her breakfast was ready. It had been so for weeks. Surely that would not change now.

Her back was to the paper door. She didn't see the silhouette outlined in it.


	13. Chapter 13

Thirteen

Nurarihyon and his parade reached Zen's base quickly enough, and when they did, they saw the _jikininki_ raising hell.

They were a disgusting sight—blackened, half rotted, bloated, bones exposed, giving off the stench of half decayed corpses. Even what wasn't rotting away couldn't be recognized as human anymore—they looked more like dead, ghoulish demons.

"Why are they doing that?" Gyuki wondered, watching as the _jikininki_ danced around in the freshly spilt blood of their human prey, for the most part not even eating the flesh and organs that littered the ground around them.

The area they had encompassed was fairly large—it was an entire town, really. The streets were stained red, and there were still some humans alive, running and screaming from their houses as the creatures tore into them. There were perhaps forty or fifty _jikininki_ that Nurarihyon could see…and hundreds more of other things.

"Are those human corpses…moving?" Daruma questioned.

"How repulsive," Setsura muttered.

The ones the _jikininki_ didn't completely destroy were standing up again, and attacking the living humans alongside them.

Sure, the restless dead could turn into demons themselves, obviously…but not that quickly.

"Let's figure out what's going on," Nurarihyon said, "and put a stop to this."

They descended upon the graveyard town. As they touched down, the _jikininki_ looked up and stopped what they were doing in unison.

"This isn't how _jikininki_ behave," Daruma said loudly. "What are you cursed holy men doing?"

The largest of the jikininki came out, then. In its large hand was a woman—a corpse of a woman, that is, still moving around and biting at the _jikininki's_ hand, trying to eat it's loose, putrid flesh. They were sure she was dead because one of her legs was missing, but there was no blood spilling out of it, and there were no eyes in her sockets. The _jikininki_ shook her to get her to stop, then bit off not only her head, but all the way down to her chest as well. Her arms snapped right off where its teeth clamped down and fell to the ground with a splash, like dropping a rock in a puddle.

"That one," it said in a low, broken voice, looking at Zen. "Killed him…"

"Not yet, you vile bastard!" Zen yelled back.

The _jikininki's_ white eyes shifted. "Nurarihyon…" It breathed.

"So you know who I am," Nurarihyon grinned, "and you decided to mess with my turf anyway?"

"Kill you," the _jikininki_ grunted, "freedom…"

"Freedom?" Karasu Tengu repeated.

"Did someone tell you this would grant you the peace of death?" Daruma demanded.

"Freedom…" the _jikininki_ repeated, as though none of them had spoken. "FREEDOM!"

Its yell rang through the night, almost echoing off the nothingness. There was a split second of silence, and then the _jikininki_ charged at them from all sides. Even the walking corpses ran at them.

"What is this?!" Gyuki demanded of the large _jikininki_, driving his sword through two of the smaller ones at once.

"Kill you," it repeated, "gain freedom!"

"It thinks if it kills us, it'll be free?" Nurarihyon questioned.

"Who told you this?!" Daruma yelled over the noises of battle. "Who incited you to attack the living?!"

"Priest," it hissed, now attacking along with its smaller counterparts. "Black priest…"

Tetsuya looked up at that, so momentarily distracted that one of the moving corpses nearly got its hand around his throat.

"You know what it's talking about, Tetsuya?" Nurarihyon asked, noticing this.

"Gumo's a dark priestess, remember?" He said, backing closer to Nurarihyon, slightly out of the fray.

"Yeah," he replied, his eyebrow raised.

"Well, she told me once that those who practice her arts can control the dead," Tetsuya told him.

"You think this is her doing?" Nurarihyon questioned disbelievingly.

"No," Tetsuya almost laughed, "but she might know who's manipulating these poor bastards."

"Good," Nurarihyon agreed. "Where is she?"

"She stayed behind with Tsubaki," Hihi told him.

Nurarihyon made an annoyed noise, still grinning, and he finally drew his sword. "Figures they wouldn't be here when I actually need them—I'll just ask when they get back to the house."

The fight lasted for no more than two hours.

After it was over, Nurarihyon and his demons surveyed their victorious battle ground—a sea of blood and body parts. A horrifying painting of hell, even to demons.

"This is going to rally the humans," Karasu Tengu predicted.

"So what," Nurarihyon dismissed. "They weren't much trouble back at the capitol—if anything, they'll probably ask for an _onmyoji_."

"That would be a big problem," Karasu Tengu pointed out, but Nurarihyon just laughed it off.

"Well, this territory should be good as new soon," he said to Zen.

"Yes," he agreed, "thank you, Supreme Commander. We should all go back to my mansion and celebrate."

There was a resounding cry of agreement from the rest of the demons.

"Sounds good," Nurarihyon consented—if they went back to the main house now, the partying would probably just wake Youhime.

…

Youhime was slipping in and out of consciousness. She could sometimes feel a dull pain in her wrists, sometimes feel cold air against her cheeks, sometimes feel something damp and hard, and sometimes hear the voices of unfamiliar men, but each time she tried to open her eyes, she just slipped away again.

"Pretty strong minded," one of these men commented, "to be able to fight against the poison like this. I figured a pampered little princess would be easier."

"It doesn't matter," the other dismissed. "As long as she isn't a hindrance, she can live."

"What are you talking about?" The first asked. "If she's not alive, she's no use—killing her is anti-productive."

"Only as long as that witch is alive," the second countered. "Once that poltergeist comes back with her head, this one can die."

"Because there will be no one to tell that Nurarihyon that she's dead?" The first confirmed. "Celestine, I know you know her better than I do, but a god is still a god—aren't you taking the child of that god too lightly?"

"No," Celestine replied. "The moon god is a useless woman, and the essence of the sea she used to conceive that demon is equally useless. All they managed to create was something for me to use to kill off those things." He nodded toward Youhime. "Why someone like you is willing to help me still escapes me, Hornet—you feed off of your own kind. Without them, you die."

"I don't know what that word means," he said. "'Hornet,' I mean. My name is Suzumebachi."

"It's the same in the language I'm used to speaking," Celestine dismissed. "A hornet and a spider are both poisonous insects that are cannibalistic—is that why you and your sister attached yourselves to them?"

"It just seemed appropriate," Suzumebachi shrugged, "since the only value either of us sees in other humans is for food."

"Druids really are interesting things," Celestine commented, and then stood. "It's time for me to leave—I don't care what you do with that," he indicated Youhime, "but only after that poltergeist returns."

"I know, I know," Suzumebachi said easily.

Celestine walked off and dissapeared around a wall of stone. Suzumebachi looked down at Youhime, immune to the beauty of her pale, creaseless face. All he saw was food that he couldn't yet eat—really, what could possibly make his sister not partake in this?

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. I was so distracted with other things that before I realized it, it was Sunday. -_-<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

Fourteen

Joro-Gumo was at her limits.

Tsubaki's body wouldn't hold up much longer. Almost every one of her bones was broken in one place or another, and the grassy forest was painted red with her blood. Really, the rate at which it replenished, no matter how damaged she was, was really quite amazing. There was enough of it on the grass and trees to make up ten humans.

But why wouldn't she just wake up?

"Aren't you tired of this yet?" The poltergeist asked, stopping its attacks for a moment.

"Extremely," Joro-Gumo answered. "Stand down, and we can both be on our way."

"What a stubborn woman," the poltergeist said fondly. "Surely drawing energy out of that unconscious body is taking a toll on you."

"Certainly," Joro-Gumo agreed, "but I have a great deal of stamina—I have been spending the last twenty years in the bed of a Taka-Onna's child, after all."

"What a vulgar thing to say," the poltergeist commented.

"What else would you expect," Joro-Gumo laughed. "After all, a Joro-Gumo is simply a demon who was once a human woman, and then turned into something else through lust, jealousy, and spite."

"Maybe it is lust that drives you," the poltergeist allowed, "but it's a lust for blood, and you are no demon."

"That depends entirely upon who you're talking to," Joro-Gumo countered.

…

The sun was almost completely up, and Nurarihyon's demons were still partying strong. The Zen house was almost unrecognizable as the fine manor it had been before the _jikininki_ attacked. Some cleaning up and minor repairs, though, and it would be just as it used to be.

It was just as Gyuki and Hihi finished their fifth drinking game of the night that Tetsuya felt something tugging at his sleeve.

"What's that?" Natto asked.

Those within a few feet of them stopped and looked at Tetsuya's kimono—or rather, at the thing crawling up it.

"Is that some kind of spider?" Nurarihyon asked. "It's pretty damn big."

"Ew," Setsura protested, edging away. "Kill it."

"This is one of Gumo's pets," Tetsuya said easily, letting it crawl onto his hand—large though it was, the spider was larger still. "She got this from some place called Africa—she sends it when she's in trouble."

"What a needy woman," Setsura commented.

"It's probably nothing," Nurarihyon dismissed. "I'd bet anything she and Tsubaki are just fighting each other to the death or something."

"Probably," Tetsuya agreed, standing, "but I should go break it up, anyway."

"I'll go with you," Nurarihyon said, getting up as well. "I want Tsubaki to get on this _jikininki_ thing."

"Shall we go with you?" Karasu Tengu offered.

"No, Tetsuya and I can handle it," Nurarihyon declined. "You guys get back to the main house when you're done and tell Youhime I'll be back soon."

"Yes, Commander," Karasu Tengu agreed.

"Are you sure it's okay that we don't go with them?" Setsura wondered, looking at the wall they had dissapeared around.

"They can handle Tsubaki and Gumo," Daruma said.

"Sure," Setsura muttered, "but it's dangerous for everyone if Tsubaki's sober—and she has to be by now."

"That woman would never do harm to the Supreme Commander," Karasu Tengu disagreed. "The rest of us, on the other hand…"

"I guess so," Setsura agreed hesitantly. "We should have sent Hihi along with, just in case."

Hihi and Gyuki remained oblivious to this conversation.

…

Nurarihyon and Tetsuya followed the directions of the spider. It pointed the way, keeping one of its front legs up the entire time, like a fuzzy brown statue.

It was fairly soon that they reached the women they were searching for. They could smell the blood before they could hear the fighting, and they could hear the fighting before they could see Joro-Gumo manipulating Tsubaki's body, fighting the transparent being.

Nurarihyon pulled his blade and soundlessly went down on the creature.

"Well, this isn't good," it muttered, un-phased by the sword.

"Nurarihyon," Joro-Gumo said, more out of surprise than anything.

"Gumo," Tetsuya called, and he landed next to her.

"Finally," Joro-Gumo sighed, and she half leaned into him, letting Tsubaki's body drop to the ground. The spider crawled from Tetsuya's shoulder down into her _kimonos_.

"What are you?" Nurarihyon asked the poltergeist.

"A demon," it answered pleasantly.

"That sword of yours won't work on it," Joro-Gumo said. "It's a poltergeist made of energy—it has no true body, only essence."

"What's going on here, Gumo?" Nurarihyon asked, none of his usual humor in his tone. "What have you been doing to Tsubaki?"

"What I had to," Joro-Gumo replied. "If I hadn't, she would be dead."

"She looks pretty dead right now," Tetsuya pointed out, "and you don't look far behind her."

"She and I will both be fine," Joro-Gumo dismissed. "A day or two and she will be up and walking—or I suppose Youhime could heal her."

"Youhime?" The poltergeist repeated. "Is that the name of the bait?"

For about two seconds, the entire forest was silent.

"What did you just say?" Nurarihyon demanded, in a low voice, but then his calm broke and he attacked the intangible demon. "What did you just say?!"

"Isn't Youhime safe at the main house?" Joro-Gumo asked, barely able to force concern into her voice.

"I guess those _jikininki_ things must have worked," the poltergeist said cheerily, standing perfectly still as Nurarihyon futilely swung his blade around, and Joro-Gumo's eyes widened slightly.

"Nurarihyon," she said is a flat voice—nothing like the silky, flirtatious tones she always used. "That fire technique of yours should kill it."

"Fire can't—" The poltergeist began to say, but it couldn't finish its sentence.

It couldn't see Nurarihyon pull out a giant _sakazuki_. All it knew for its last few seconds of existence was the pain of being burned away.

Once that was done, Nurarihyon turned away and hurried to Tsubaki—she was covered in injuries. He could feel the ones in her bones when he touched her shoulders to prop her up.

"Don't move her," Joro-Gumo ordered, her usual tones reacquired, and Nurarihyon looked at her, not quite glaring, but his eyes demanding an explanation nonetheless. "I didn't know this would happen, I promise. Tsubaki and I stayed behind because we thought there was a demon from her native land upon us, and some risen soldiers following him."

"And where are these risen soldiers?" Nurarihyon asked.

"That demon you just killed isn't the one I was talking about," Joro-Gumo corrected. "It was a being called a vampire—we disposed of them, and that poltergeist attacked us in mid flight. Tsubaki passed out from the injuries she sustained, and I had no choice but to use her body to fight it. It was after her head."

"Why?" Tetsuya wondered.

"To keep us from you," Joro-Gumo said. "Those _jikininki_ he mentioned—did you fight them?"

"They attacked Zen's territory," Nurarihyon told her. "They were behind the attacks you warned us about before, too."

Joro-Gumo didn't bother to correct him about that last bit—he was right, in a sense. "Yes, it makes sense now," she sighed. "They were trying to separate Tsubaki from you—when it didn't work, they rethought their plan."

"Who?" Nurarihyon demanded. "Why?"

"As to who, that would be my brother and probably that Celestine person she knows," Joro-Gumo replied, nodding at Tsubaki. "Why my brother would break our rules…he is acting foolishly." She looked at Nurarihyon again. "They probably took your precious wife to use her against you—that is something my brother would do."

She gripped Tetsuya's hand slightly. Nurarihyon's eyes turned black with his rage, and he was gripping the hilt of his sword so tightly it looked like he might break it.

"Don't," Joro-Gumo said when he stood.

"Don't try to stop me," Nurarihyon snapped.

"I'm not," Joro-Gumo promised, and he glared at her questioningly. "There's a reason my brother and his ally went to such elaborate lengths to get rid of Tsubaki."

"What do you mean?" Nurarihyon said through his teeth.

"You will not find her without someone to lead you," Joro-Gumo said. "Youhime and Tsubaki are both witches—Tsubaki will be able to follow her energy." She sighed. "And even if she can't, I know how to find my brother. Wherever he is, Youhime will likely be."

"And he was the one manipulating those _jikininki_?" Nurarihyon asked. "Why?"

Joro-Gumo knew what he meant—he was aware that her kind didn't stick their noses into anything bigger than cursing people for money. Why would he help kidnap the wife of the master of demons?

"I don't know," she admitted, "but I can't ignore this—I have to find him." She took a deep breath. "And you can calm down—Youhime is almost certainly alive and unharmed."

"How can you be sure?" Tetsuya asked, completely normal despite the situation.

"She's no good as leverage if she's dead," Joro-Gumo pointed out. "Tsubaki would know if she was. Suzumebachi won't touch her until he knows Tsubaki is dead."

"But she's not," Tetsuya pointed out.

"Exactly," Joro-Gumo agreed. She pulled her _kimono_ sleeves back and held her wrist out toward Nurarihyon. "Cut it."

"What?" Nurarihyon questioned.

"My blood will make Tsubaki wake up," Joro-Gumo told him. "It will also numb her pain. I can't do it myself, so cut it."

Nurarihyon raised his eyebrow at her, but did as she said—so quickly that she couldn't actually feel it at first.

She put her wrist to her lips and filled her mouth with her blood, then bent over Tsubaki and transferred it like that. They were all motionless for a couple seconds, but then Tsubaki's eyes snapped open and she took in a deep, ragged breath as if she had been drowning.

"What…" She tried to question, sitting up.

"Youhime was the objective," Joro-Gumo told her calmly. "Can you find her?"

Tsubaki looked down at her body, knowing full well how damaged it was. "How long do I have?"

"Two hours, maybe," Joro-Gumo said.

"That should be enough," Tsubaki hissed, standing.

"You can find Youhime?" Nurarihyon asked.

"Yes," Tsubaki answered.

"Then let's go," Nurarihyon decided.

"Yes," Tsubaki agreed, and she looked at Joro-Gumo.

"I will go with you," she sighed. "I sense Cho is not far away—I should be there when she is."

"Talk later," Nurarihyon ordered. "Youhime comes first."

The three of them smiled slightly, all amused despite themselves at the devotion he displayed for this frail human woman.


	15. Chapter 15

Fifteen

They followed some kind of contraption of Tsubaki's—she said it was for tracking energy. She wasn't up to doing it herself.

"Gumo," Nurarihyon said after glancing at her almost worried face. "Even if this guy is your brother, I'm not going to let him go."

Joro-Gumo looked at him, expression unchanged. "I'm afraid that's not your choice to make—you won't be able to kill Suzumebachi, and I doubt he was the one who actually took Youhime, regardless."

"What do you mean?" Nurarihyon asked.

"Suzumebachi would have had to be close to those _jikininki_ to manipulate them," Joro-Gumo pointed out. "It was probably that Celestine guy." She sighed. "And Suzumebachi isn't yours to punish—our leader will be here soon. His fate is hers to decide."

…

Suzumebachi continued to just stand, looking at Youhime. Sometimes her eyelids would flutter, as if she were about to wake up, but then his poison would push her back. He kind of wanted to let her wake up—see how she would react to being in a dark, cold cave with an unknown man—but if he did, it would make it easy to find her.

Still, he imagined it would have been amusing, her waking up to find herself not in that nice room or that warm bed. He imagined the fear that would surely be in her pretty, innocent eyes—would she call out the name of her demon lover? Would she plead for her life? Would she just sit there and cry like a useless child?

Any of them would have been pleasing.

Maybe she would try to escape. Maybe she wasn't as frail as she looked. She was able to keep up with a demon, obviously, if only sexually. He had seen seemingly stronger human women in similar situations break before even a month had passed. The prospect of even a slight challenge was more exciting than her fear.

Or rather, the prospect of a prelude to that fear was exciting. There was always fear in the end—it put such a deliciously sour flavor to the blood. If this girl was still a virgin, he might have considered violating her, too. That almost made it taste spicy.

He would have to restrain himself, though. That poltergeist really should have been back by now, and it made him wonder if Celestine's plan really was working.

He had told Suzumebachi that the witch would certainly kill the first set of pawns, but even the Earth Raiser wouldn't be able to get away from a vampire—especially one she was emotionally attached to—and a few dozen undead soldiers unharmed. The poltergeist would just be finishing up the job once she was drained of the energy she would need to kill it.

And he should have been back by now. How long was it supposed to take to lop off a head?

It was then that he felt the ground shaking.

They were just short tremors at first, barely vibrations. They were fairly deep in the mountain, though—Suzumebachi wouldn't have been able to see anything if not for the few candles placed around the cavern—so it wasn't that surprising.

But then it kept happening. The tremors were getting longer and more violent. Suzumebachi took a candle and stepped away from Youhime to look further down the cave—it wouldn't do well for him to be trapped inside. Celestine's idea had sounded good, but not good enough to get crushed by rocks over it.

"Hey."

Suzumebachi didn't jump, though he was surprised. He turned his head to see who it was, not recognizing the voice, but before he could see anything, he felt a fist plant itself on his face. He hit the other side of the cave so hard his skull audibly cracked and blood splattered everywhere.

It wasn't enough to knock him out, let alone kill him, but it did daze him for a few moments. In those few moments, a hand fit itself around his neck and pulled him up until his feet were off the ground.

The candle hadn't gone out, amazingly enough, despite being dropped so violently, but it was thanks to that that when Suzumebachi got his eyes into focus, he could see gold irises in black eyes, boring into his own with such a hateful rage that it might have set fire to a lesser being.

"Where is she?" He demanded, his voice low and quiet.

"You must be Nurarihyon," Suzumebachi grinned, his voice strained. "It takes a lot more than that to kill a druid."

Nurarihyon could easily have dodged Suzumebachi's hand. He could see its course easily, despite the speed—he knew it would go straight into his chest.

The thing was, what Suzumebachi was looking for wasn't there. Nurarihyon let his hand go in—let him feel that his heart wasn't in his chest. It did seem to shock him, too—he almost looked scared.

His hand stung, though, like lemon juice to a shallow cut.

Nurarihyon threw Suzumebachi back down the cavern the way he had come. He hit the stone wall at the end of the tunnel, right above Youhime, and he fell on her. Nurarihyon seemed to realize what he had done because he was right there a second later, throwing Suzumebachi away.

"Youhime," Nurarihyon said urgently, gripping her shoulders and shaking her slightly. Suzumebachi's blood was all over her _kimonos_ now, and even on her face. "Come on, open your eyes!"

"Heh," Suzumebachi breathed, still able to grin despite his bashed in skull. "She's not going to be waking up any time soon."

"What did you do to her you bastard?!" Nurarihyon yelled, drawing his sword—Joro-Gumo had told him it wouldn't work on this man, but he didn't care.

"If you want her to wake up, go start killing off humans," Suzumebachi ordered.

"Really?"

He recognized the voice of the speaker this time.

"Sister, what are you doing here?" He asked, looking at Joro-Gumo who was just within the range of the candle light. Tsubaki rushed passed her and joined Nurarihyon, checking Youhime best she could for damages. Tetsuya stayed behind Joro-Gumo, his expression something akin to curious.

"She's only unconscious," Tsubaki sighed, relieved. "She should wake up once she gets away from here."

Nurarihyon didn't let the relief at Tsubaki's words show on his face. He felt something strange in his body…like it was going numb…

"You should be more worried about when Cho gets here," Joro-Gumo pointed out, her voice flat again. "You can't even use your hornets anymore, can you? Tsubaki told me that the only reason you would be helping that titan was if you wanted to kill off our prey, but I didn't think it would be true."

"Why shouldn't I want them gone?!" Suzumebachi demanded. "They're disgusting creatures—you know it even better than I do! Don't you remember what they did to you before we got these abilities?!"

"Yes, I do," Joro-Gumo said calmly, "but I also remember that we are still humans ourselves, and even more sinful than the men who—"

"So what?!" Suzumebachi shot back, standing. "So what if we eat them?!"

"Boy," Tsubaki cut in, and they looked at her. "Where is the man who persuaded you to forfeit your life?"

Suzumebachi snorted. "I'm not forfeiting—"

But he couldn't finish his sentence. He stopped when the butterfly fluttered in, it's pink wings illuminated by the candlelight. They all watched as it landed on the far side of the cave, as if the rock were a flower.

"You have been a very bad boy."

In front of Suzumebachi was a woman. A pale, golden haired woman in a European dress—her waist looked so tiny, especially with the skirt fluffing out under it, that just the wind could snap it in half.


	16. Chapter 16

Sixteen

"Cho," Joro-Gumo tried to say, and the woman turned.

"He has really made quite a mess of things, has he not?" Cho said to her. "Even though I told you both that you may not involve our world with any other…our shadows must never mix with the day or night."

Joro-Gumo balled her hands into fists under her _kimono_ sleeves, but didn't say anything more.

Cho turned toward Nurarihyon and Tsubaki next. She had a pleasant face, really—a soft expression with soft features.

"I am rather surprised to see you here, Helen," she said with a delicate smile, though she didn't say this in Japanese—it was in Greek. "Is this where you have been hiding yourself for the last few decades? Are these children yours?"

"Yes, they are," Tsubaki replied in the same language.

"That is unfortunate," Cho sighed slightly. "That woman-child there looks so delicious, I was thinking of stealing her, even with the child in her womb."

Tsubaki smiled pleasantly back. "Touch her and you die," she said. "Do what you came here to do, Butterfly, and get off this island."

"I have no desire to stay here any longer than necessary," Cho agreed.

She didn't even turn her face back toward Suzumebachi—she just shot her hand right through his chest, expression unchanged, pulled his heart out, and threw it to the ground. She grabbed his arm to keep him up, ignoring his cries of fear, and continued to pull out every one of his innards until his torso was completely empty.

"Well, this is annoying," Cho murmured after she was done and dropped Suzumebachi to the ground as well. "Now my dress is dirty." She looked at Joro-Gumo, who was visibly shaking. "Clean this up after he finally dies."

"Yes," Joro-Gumo agreed in a low voice.

"Butterfly," Tsubaki said, actually feeling nauseous from what she had just witnessed—it must have been Joro-Gumo's blood affecting her.

"Rather than lecture me, dearest ancestor," Cho purred, "should you not be taking care of that boy?"

Tsubaki looked at Nurarihyon—now that she mention it, it was strange that he hadn't done or said anything for the last few minutes. She put her hand on his face, and realized—he couldn't move. He was frozen where he stood

"Even a demon like that is susceptible to our poisons," Cho giggled. "I heard it was you who killed that fox woman from Kyoto," she said to him. "That really is a shame—I rather liked her. Perhaps if you had not done so, this would not have happened—and I would not have had to come to this annoying little island to take care of that naughty little Hornet." She looked at Tsubaki again. "You should hurry and give him an antidote before he is completely petrified."

Nurarihyon had been conscious the entire time Cho was there, but looking at her baby blue eyes, he couldn't fight off the poison any more. He slipped away.

…

Nurarihyon felt his head resting on a lap, and felt a warm hand on his head. He felt grass under him and darkness all around him. When he opened his eyes, he saw the glowing petals of cherry blossoms above him and the smiling woman whose lap his head was on.

"Mother," he said with a slight smile. "Long time no see."

She smiled wider. Her pale skin also glowed in the darkness, as well as her long white hair and gray eyes.

"You've been doing reckless things," she murmured.

"Wasn't it you who told me a man should do everything he could to protect the woman he loves?" Nurarihyon countered.

"I did," she agreed. "For you to choose a human witch as that woman…I wonder what your father would think."

"What father?" Nurarihyon questioned with a laugh.

"Another fair point," his mother consented.

Nurarihyon sat up and looked up at her again. "So what are you doing in a place like this?" He asked, glancing around the dark world.

"Even I can worry about my child," she replied. "I just wanted to warn you, my son, about the being you came very near to crossing."

"You mean that woman that killed Gumo's brother?" Nurarihyon guessed. "As long as she stays away from Youhime, I don't care what she does."

"No, I don't mean the druids," his mother said, placing her hand on his head. "I mean the titan you know as Celestine."

"I've met him before," Nurarihyon dismissed, "he's not that big a deal."

"Not to you," his mother allowed, "but he could sway the friends you've collected over the last century—he has the power to control them."

"They would never turn on me," Nurarihyon disagreed.

"It isn't a matter of betrayal," his mother said. "It's a matter of control—those demons could easily fall to his will. You want to protect them, don't you?" Nurarihyon raised his eyebrow at her. "Then tell Helen something for me."

"She changed her name to Tsubaki," Nurarihyon corrected.

"To blend in with the culture," his mother said. "Nurarihyon, tell her to go to the Capitol and ask for help from the witch Terence. She will know what that means."

"Why don't you just tell her yourself?" Nurarihyon asked. "She hasn't seen you since you left me with her, right?"

"It would cause problems for everyone if I did that," his mother murmured. "It's time for you to wake up, my son. That woman of yours is crying."

She kissed Nurarihyon's forehead and his vision went dark again. The feeling around him changed—the grass turned into cloth, and he could feel a different kind of warmth. He could hear a different voice calling his name.

Not his name, actually…

Nurarihyon opened his eyes—the setting sun was bright, but he didn't close them again. Youhime was there, and there were tears falling from her eyes. Her hands were on his bare chest, and he could feel her energy pouring into him, repairing every cell in his body.

"Lord Ayakashi," she sobbed and threw her arms around his neck. "I thought you had died!"

"There's no way I'd die on you," Nurarihyon told her, placing one arm around her and using the other to sit up.

"Lord Ayakashi," Youhime continued to cry, "please, promise me you won't get into anymore fights!"

"Youhime," Nurarihyon tried to say, but she wouldn't let him.

"Please," she repeated, "I can't stand the thought of you ending up like this again!"

Nurarihyon sighed. "Sure," he agreed, "no more fights."

"Supreme Commander," Karasu Tengu said, the relief more than evident in both his voice and face.

"What happened?" Nurarihyon asked, and then looked down at Youhime when her arms loosened and her body went limp. "Hey—"

"She is probably exhausted," Tsubaki said, and Nurarihyon looked at the door where she was leaning against the frame, inhaling from her pipe. "She has been trying to use her energy to wake you up for the past two days."

"Two days?" Nurarihyon repeated. "What happened after that woman killed that guy?"

Tsubaki sighed, walked into the room and sat down next to him.

"After Cho left," she began, "I took you and Youhime and brought you back here. Youhime woke up about an hour later and she has been trying to wake you up ever since. I told her that the antidote Zen made would work, but she refused to leave you until you opened your eyes."

Nurarihyon made an annoyed noise. "That was pretty damn careless of me," he grumbled.

"Yes, it was," Tsubaki agreed. "You know druids fight with poisons—what on Earth were you thinking, letting one stab you?"

"I wanted to scare him," Nurarihyon replied. "What about Tetsuya and Gumo?"

Tsubaki shifted uncomfortably. "They stayed behind—even someone like Gumo feels grief when her brother is killed like that right in front of her."

"What kind of sister—" Nurarihyon began, but Tsubaki cut him off.

"That boy knew what would happen if he got involved with Celestine," she said in a hard voice. "Druids are the shadows of our world of night—they cannot cross over into the day, and they cannot stand out in the darkness. That is their rule. Cho was well within her right to punish her subordinate, however cruel it was. If Gumo had interfered, the same would have happened to her."

Nurarihyon snorted. "For someone who hates druids, you sure are defensive of her."

"I simply believe she has suffered enough without your ridicule," Tsubaki dismissed. "At any rate, she and Tetsuya are here now." She turned her head. "Karasu, should you not go tell everyone he is awake?"

"I should," Karasu Tengu agreed.

Tsubaki waited until he was gone to ask, "Where were you?"

Nurarihyon raised his eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you think Youhime was crying why you opened your eyes?" Tsubaki asked. "Your soul left your body for a good few minutes—that is why she thought you had died. So where did you go?"

"Oh," Nurarihyon sighed, understanding, and he secured his arms around Youhime all the tighter. "I saw my mother."

Tsubaki twitched.

"She said if I wanted that Celestine guy to stay away," he continued, "I should ask you to go to the Capitol and ask some witch called Terence for help. She said you would know who that is."

"I do," Tsubaki said. "He is probably the only being capable at the moment of erecting a barrier strong enough to keep Celestine away from this island."

"You think he went back to where he came from?" Nurarihyon asked.

"That monster does not 'come from' anywhere," Tsubaki hissed, "but he is nowhere within a thousand miles of here, I am sure of that. He must have fled when you killed that poltergeist."

Nurarihyon looked her up and down. "Did Youhime heal you, too?"

"No," Tsubaki half laughed. "After I got us back here, I explained to everyone what had happened and passed out myself for the next twenty-four hours."

"Even you couldn't recover from those injuries that quickly on your own," Nurarihyon countered.

"I did not," Tsubaki agreed, "but I _have_ recovered enough that I can walk around."

"You're a monster," Nurarihyon muttered.

"Yes, I am," Tsubaki agreed, standing. "Nurarihyon, I will have to leave this place for quite a while. I will get the witch your mother mentioned, and this island will be protected if only for a little while, but I must leave for my native lands."

"Why?" Nurarihyon asked. "I thought you liked it here."

"I do," Tsubaki agreed, "but Celestine is an important issue in the world outside of Japan. I have friends I must report this to, and things I must take care of."

"You're making it sound like you're not coming back," Nurarihyon told her.

"I most certainly will," Tsubaki promised. "Though, perhaps not in Youhime's lifetime—I regret that I will not be able to witness the birth of the child she carries."

Nurarihyon stared at her, but couldn't say anything else. Setsura was the first to run in, crying almost as much as Youhime had. Karasu Tengu and Gyuki were only a second behind, and the rest followed after them.

Tsubaki slipped away, out into the hall. The further she got from Nurarihyon's room, the quieter the darkness became. Tsubaki was quite sure she was alone in that darkness until she felt a hand in her hair, sliding through its fingers.

"Hihi," she said, surprised, "I did not see you sitting there."

He was just inside the room he usually stayed in while at the main house, though the rising moon was clearly visible even with the second story hall.

"Something must be heavy on your mind, then," Hihi replied.

Tsubaki sighed.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Hihi guessed.

"One of the things I like so much about you is how good you are at reading my mind," Tsubaki said with a laugh. "Should you not be filing into Nurarihyon's room with everyone else?"

"I'll go in later," Hihi said, "it'll be crowded enough without me."

"You have a point," Tsubaki agreed. She put her hands on his shoulders, swung her leg around his—even on her knees, her face was just barely higher than his—and took off his mask. "You know, Hihi, I am a very selfish woman—selfish enough to do what I have to to keep this place safe."

"You think leaving will do that?" Hihi questioned.

"If I had not come here, it is unlikely Celestine would have," Tsubaki told him. "I want Nurarihyon and Youhime to live in peace, for the child they have to live in peace, and for the child that child has to live in peace. I will most certainly come back—perhaps by then you will have a child as well."

Hihi placed one of his large hands on the back of Tsubaki's head, the other on her lower back, and he pressed her hips against his stomach. "It's in my nature to take women, you know—if I thought I could hold you, I would do the same with you."

Tsubaki laughed quietly and pressed her forehead against his. "Just for one more night," she said in barely more than a whisper. "In the morning, I will have to return to my reality."

Hihi kissed her, then, and pressed her harder against his body. Tsubaki dropped his mask and gripped his _kimono_. After a second he moved down to her neck and breasts, and she wrapped her arms around his head, exhaling sharply at the feeling of his lips, his tongue, his teeth biting down on her skin. Hihi slid the door closed, then, as he leaned forward and pressed her back against the floor.

…

Indeed, in the morning, Tsubaki was nowhere to be found. Days passed, Tetsuya and Joro-Gumo left to go back to Nagoya, then weeks passed, but she still hadn't returned. The days went by peacefully, and Youhime's stomach grew more and more as time passed. After eight months had gone by, Rihan was born.

A decade went by, then a few more, and a few more after that until eventually, four hundred years had passed without trouble from the creatures outside of Japan.

The barrier had faded in that time, though. Shadows were stretching across the sea from the west…

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Yep, this is totally why Youhime freaks out about Nurarihyon's fighting. I didn't intend to give my own characters so much screen time, but I guess I let myself get a little too into it. For the next one, I'll try to focus harder on the characters original to the manga. There is definitely going to be a sequel, but not until after I finish up a few other projects...<p> 


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